Jan Brierton went viral during the pandemic for a poem she wrote called What day is it? Who gives a ****?.
The poem, which happened to be the first she’d ever written, was unwittingly her debut in her writing career.
Since the pandemic, the fashion stylist has published two books of poetry, been a regular on Irish television and radio, and earlier this year, she supported John Cooper Clarke at the London Palladium.
This year, the Dublin based author will be turning 50 - which she looks forward to, saying “I feel like I have the balls to get bigger”.
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“It’s not ageing, I’m growing. I feel like I am just growing. I’m really excited about it”.
“I’ve always been not a suck it and see kind of person but a f**k it and see kind of person,” says the artist.
She adds that growing older has emboldened her, “I haven’t been as fearless up until this point in my life.”
As well as discussing getting older on today’s episode of the Women’s Podcast, Róisín Ingle and Jan Brierton look forward to one of the biggest events in the Irish cultural calendar: Electric Picnic.
This weekend, the poet is hosting her Wild Words event in the “eclectic” Minefield area of the festival. It’s a celebration of poetry and spoken word, featuring a whole host of “authors, writers, comedians, podcasters and poets”.
The line up of Wild Words, as handpicked by Brierton, will feature author Dr Katriona O’Sullivan along with Hilda Fay, comedian Gearóid Farrelly and a selection of Brierton’s own work performed by the author.
It will also feature a very special live recording of the Irish Times Women’s Podcast, with Róisin Ingle in conversation with American actor and comedian Rosie O’Donnell. You can catch them at 4pm in the Manifesto Tent on Saturday afternoon.
You can listen back to this conversation in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
In association with Kildare Village.
