Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and traveler who writes extensively about language, power, conflict and religion. Ó Tuama is the master storyteller and host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound. Previously, he was the leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. He will talk with Sara Jamshidi about poetry, God, sexual orientation, words, prayers and finding a home in the world.
In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World
By Pádraig Ó Tuama |
For Ó Tuama, religion, conflict, power and poetry all circle around language, that original sacrament. In the context of public theology, he takes the received form of biblical texts and explores the civic and artistic dynamics of language, narrative and impact in these stories.
His work has won acclaim in circles of conflict analysis, politics, religion, poetry and psychotherapy. His storytelling, poetry, and writing have been featured on The Moth, TEDx Talks, America, the BBC, and The Spirit of Things. A compelling speaker, he travels widely. Ó Tuama lives in Belfast, Ireland.
Imagining Peace | Pádraig Ó Tuama | TEDxStormont
The Pedagogy of Conflict
I
When I was a child,
I learnt to lie.
When I was a child
my parents said that sometimes,
lives are protected
by an undetected
light lie of
deception
When I was a child,
I learnt to lie.
Now, I am more than twenty five
and I’m alive
because I’ve lied
and I am lying still.
Sometimes,
it’s the only way of living.
II
When I was a child
I learnt that I could stay alive
by obeying certain
rules:
let your anger cool before you
blossom bruises on your brother’s shoulder;
always show your manners at the table;
always keep the rules and never question;
never mention certain things to certain people;
never doubt the reasons behind
legitimate aggression;
if you compromise or humanise
you must still even out the score;
and never open up the door.
Never open up the door.
Never, never, never open up the blasted door.
When I was a child,
I learnt that I could stay alive
by obeying certain rules.
Never open up the door.
III
When I was a child,
I learnt to count to five
one, two, three, four, five.
but these days, I’ve been counting lives, so I count
one life
one life
one life
one life
one life
because each time
is the first time
that that life
has been taken.
Legitimate Target
has sixteen letters
and one
long
abominable
space
between
two
dehumanising
words.
“The Pedagogy of Conflict” Originally published in Sorry for your Troubles (Canterbury Press, 2013). Copyright © 2013 by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Reprinted with the permission of the poet.
YouTube Raw Footage of Conversation between Pádraig Ó Tuama and Sara Jamshidi for Peacemindedly Podcast
Please Pledge to Our Peace Journalism.
Goltune is editorially independent. We set our agenda. No one edits our editors. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it enables us to stay true to our values.
Every contribution we receive from readers like you, big or small, goes directly into funding our journalism. Please support Goltune, large or small.
Send your contributions to our PayPal account: [email protected]
Or, Click the link to pledge your support.
Thank you,
Goltune Editorial Team