Twenty Thousand SaintsArchaeologist Deian returns to the island of his childhood, where his mother disappeared without a trace. Sister Viv, closet heretic and host of the annual conference of hermits, has erected for her a gold memorial declaring her unofficial sainthood. Documentary maker Leri, meanwhile, is pursuing a story she is keeping from her assistant and lover, Greta. This has less to do with birds and saints bones than with real bloodshed. During one hot August

"This must-have for thorough poetry collections offers samples of more than a hundred Irish women poets who have published at least one volume of poetry

She was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Commissions Grant in 2004 for playwriting

“A bold and powerfully written tale

her play Seamless was chosen by Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theatre to be part of their renowned New Works Festival

Cover artist is Jaber Alwan from Iraq

Banipal 42 opens with a return to the popular feature – Literary Influences

is regarded as one of the finest examples of contemporary Catalan writing

satirical and rural and has been described as "Paul Durcan meets The Sawdoctors"

Phnom Penh and Shanghai

translated by Alen Prowle

John Lucas is a major modern poet who has written for all the leading literary journals of the day

• 'Poets I Go Back To': writers reveal which poets from the past have most influenced them