GEOFF WARD
About
Geoff Ward, who lives on the Beara peninsula in the south-west of Ireland, is an author, poet, journalist and musician. He has MA and BA (Hons) degrees in English literature and is a tutor and mentor in literature and creative writing (fiction and non-fiction). He is also a book editor, having worked with a number of authors internationally in recent years.
Geoff's book A Raft of Dreams (2015), is a collection of some of the short stories and poems he has written over the years.
He is also the author of Spirals: the Pattern of Existence (Green Magic 2006, 2nd edition 2013), a study of the prevalence and significance of the spiral form and pattern in nature and human culture, which has an introduction by the internationally best-selling author, the late Colin Wilson. Since 2004, Geoff has managed Colin Wilson World, the website he created as an appreciation of Wilson.
In addition to writing and literature, Geoff's key interests include the lost knowledge and wisdom of the ancients, cosmology and holistic science, existential philosophy and Jungian psychology. In February 2016, he founded and launched the West Cork Literary Society.
Music
Geoff is also a singer and songwriter, playing six-string guitar, 12-string guitar, tenor guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and harmonica. For his music, he uses the stage-name Jeff J Ward, while keeping the name Geoff Ward for his literary and journalistic pursuits.
He has always been a great fan of American 'roots' music - Americana, country, rockabilly, folk and blues - and this is reflected in his songwriting and performance.
Captivated by the beauty of the Beara peninsula on one of their many visits to Ireland, Geoff and his Irish wife Angie moved to the region from the UK in 2011. To celebrate Beara, along with the Wild Atlantic Way tourist route which runs along the west coast of Ireland, Geoff wrote and recorded a song, 'Bound for Beara', which has become very popular in the area.
'After we came here, I found out there were already a few songs either about or mentioning Beara, but that didn't prevent me from being inspired to write one myself,' he says.
A DVD of 'Bound for Beara', which was recorded at Sweet Ticket Music, Allihies, can be obtained direct from Geoff by messaging him at this website (€5.50, including postage). The song is also available on CD, price €3.
You can be 'Bound for Beara' on Facebook, too, where Geoff has created a page for the song and other recordings.
His collection of songs, 'Into the wind', released at Christmas 2017 and also recorded at Sweet Ticket Music, is available as download and via streaming at Bandcamp and you can hear other collections of his songs both at Bandcamp and ReverbNation.
'Into the wind' is also available as a CD which can be purchased (€6.50 plus postage) direct from Geoff by sending him a message through this website.
