To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Joyce’s seminal short story collection Dubliners, the James Joyce Centre is delighted to announce the details of a series of special free talks to take place throughout 2014. To reserve your place please contact the Centre by telephone 01 8788547 or email:info@jamesjoyce.ie. All lectures start at 6.30pm.
Monday, January 6
Professor Declan Kiberd (University of Notre Dame)
Dubliners: The First Hundred Years
Monday, February 3
The James Joyce Birthday Lecture
Frank Callanan, S.C. (Independent Scholar)
Dubliners and Joyce’s Nationalism
Monday, March 3
Dr Eilis ni Dhuibhne (Novelist and Short Story Writer)
Dubliners: A writer’s perspective
Monday, April 7
Dr Gerry Smyth (Liverpool John Moores University)
Betrayal and the Everyday in Dubliners
Monday, September 1
Caroline Elbay (Champlain College Dublin)
Whores, Mothers and Others: Women in Dubliners
Monday, October 6
Professor Anne Fogarty (UCD)
“Damn it, can’t we Irish play fair”?: Parnellism and the myth of Parnell in ‘Ivy Day in the Committee Room’
Monday, November 3
Dr Katherine O’Callaghan (TCD)
Faintly illuminating the cadence of the air: the role of song in Joyce’s ‘The Dead’
Monday, December 1
Terence Killeen (JJC Research Scholar)
Imaginary Dubliners
All lectures start promptly at 6.30pm
Admission free – limited seating – booking essential
35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1.
Phone: 01 878 8547
Email: info@jamesjoyce.ie
It’s been amazing how busy my year has been. From hanging and learning at writing festivals and workshops to attending launches and lots and lots of reading and reviews in between.
I attended the Irish Blog Awards in style!
I’m going to start right back at the start of 2013. Yes, you’ve guess it. I’m starting my rozz.ie review of 2013 in… January
My Christmas present from my husband was a holiday to the city of Bath from. I was looking forward to lots of reading! We stayed in a gorgeous country house hotel up in the hills above the city. During the day, we saw the Jane Austen Museum, the Roman Baths and spent too much money in Mrs B’s Reading Emporium-the most fabulous of fabulous bookshops. I got a great recommendation there for a three-part novella/short story collection by Italian author, Pietro Grossi. I devoured it and reviewed “Fists” on the blog. Back at home, The National Emerging Writers’ Programme released a set of DVDs in conjunction with writing.ie. February
A Rozzie became ill and Simon attended the Dalkey Book Festival by himself. He treated me to the anthology of very cool and diverse anthology “Best European Fiction 2012” and I promptly gave it a thumbs up and a glowing review on the blog. You have to be nice. March
There was an obsession on my blog with the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize 2013. I downloaded the 5 short stories and loved, loved, loved Mark Hadden’s “The Gun”. I predicted it would win but Junot Diaz’s “Miss Lora” scooped the prize. I liked it but didn’t love it. Not to worry, Mark, there’s always next year. April
My favourite Lit Crush, Kevin Barry won the IMPAC Prize of €100,000. April was also a month for winning with the Hennessey Literary award for Best Emerging Fiction went to a short story, “Shelley” by John O’ Donnell. That story certainty stayed with me.
Dave Lordan at the launch of his First Book of Frags.
I also got out and about and attended Dave Lordan’s launch of his new book entitled “First Book of Frags” I really enjoyed the frags, a unique mix of full-sugar calorie, Dave-style and proud. His launch was open and fun, ending in an Open Mic where I read a short piece. May
We saw the beginnings of the festivals that cover Ireland for the summer months with the Dublin Writers’ Festival and I applied for a masterclass with Colum Mc Cann. He handled the packed class of students well and was a chilled out performer.
2013 really was Kevin Barry’s year(Every year is?) and in May, he edited the “Town and Country” short story anthology. I was torn with trying to get to my nephew’s communion in Mayo and going to the launch in Dublin. In the end, after a public vote, I got to both. In heels. June
It was a month of reviews for rozz.ie and I reviewed “The story of before” by Susan Stairs, “Bloodlines” by Joyce Russell and “Telemetale”, anthology put together by the Irish Writers’ Centre to commemorate Bloomsday.
June was also jam-packed with events. The Carlow Writers’ Cooperative published and launched their own anthology, “What Champagne Was Like” and I had two shorts featured within. The very lovely Jamie O’ Connell launched it for us. We raised over €1,100 and were pretty proud.
Jamie O Connell launches our group anthology, What Champagne Was Like. An excuse was had to get hair made big by Rozzie.
I also checked out the brilliant Festival of Writing and Ideas in Borris House. We had Ben Okri, PJ Harvey, Anne Enright and Donal Ryan to name a few. Hugo Jellett, the organiser has created the top literary festival with a unique setting. A must for any reader or writer. Honestly. It finished off a pretty brilliant Carlow Arts Festival. We are lucky. You should be jealous of Carlow. July
This month is always the month of the West Cork Literary Festival and we headed off to Bantry again. I sat a week-long workshops with John McKenna and it involved lots of movement and chat and homework! The week flew. My highlight of the festival events was Deborah Levy, reading from her cute book “Things we don’t want to know” and “Black Vodka”, both of which I loved and reviewed on rozz.ie
Off to Bantry in July to read, chat and write!
August
A historian friend( you know who you are) dragged us to the surprisingly cool History Festival in Ireland in Duckett’s Grove, Carlow. We saw “The Great Hunger”, Patrick Kavanagh’s one-man play. It was excellent and we followed it up with an event with Nicky Byrne. He of former Westlife. Turtle Banbury, the host interviewed him well and Nicky told us everything he had found out about his family history in the archives.
I also volunteered for the Kilkenny Arts Festival and sat in on Ron Rash, Kevin Barry(whoop!), Paula Meehan and a evocative and moving performance of the river voice in Finnegan’s Wake in “Riverrun”
I also somehow got the chance to review David Constantine’s new short story collection, “Tea at the Midlands”. Loved. September
This month was the result of a summer holiday of reading with lots of reviews. I reviewed “Siege 13”, “Testament of Mary” and “The Herbalist”. Carlow Libraries gave us the annual Penfest Literary Festival and I caught up with Nuala Ni Chonchuir and she shared her wisdom on the short story. Kevin Barry arrived in Carlow and he read and chatted about his writing life. He revealed he was heading out of Ireland for a while but he will return. Phew! October
It was all about the literary magazine. Bohemyth announced its new editor, Michael Naughten-Shanks. Wordlegs magazine announced they wouldn’t be around forever and Dave Lordan et announced a new magazine, Colony. Coming soon!
I reviewed the very cool “Psychotic Episodes” by Alan Mc Gonagle and Simon reviewed the novel “Mount Merrion” purely because he loves Justin Quinn.
November
rozz.ie was longlisted for “Best Arts and Culture” blog and I attended the awards ceremony in style, dressed up as a flapper girl.
New Planet Cabaret anthology was launched by editor, Dave Lordan. Him again! We attended the launch which was recorded live on RTE radio 1 Arena show. December
It was festive with an entertaining night in Cafe Formenti, Carlow Town. John Mc Kenna and Angela Keogh hosted the event and we were treated to mince pies, turkey and cranberry balls and sweet potato and cinnamon fritters alongside readings and music. It inspired me to host my own Open Mic. Readers were asked to read, rant, sing for 5 minutes on the theme of Yuletide. Loosely. Madeline from the Tearooms gave us her new popup tea rooms as a venue and it was wonderfully festive and sweet!
The last month of 2013 was finished off with a review of Ron Rash’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and much anticipated “Young Skins” by modest man, Colin Barrett. Hyped up but fully deserved. I was sad when I finished it. Colin had one of his stories nominated for the Bord Gáis Short Story of the Year award but he lost out.
The last few days of my 2013 are being spent reading Carve Magazine and looking forward to writing some new reviews to come in the shape of “The thing about December” by Donal Ryan and “Baracuda” by Christos Tsiolkas.
Life is good and rozz.ie is a busy, little blog! I’ve hoped you enjoyed the year with me and it’s given you some inspiration to get reading, it really is the new black. Happy New Year!
Writing.ie and Bord Gais released their shortlist for the best short story in the annual Bord Gais Book Awards 2013. I have read three of them. Bait by Colin Barrett, A different country by Danielle Mc Laughlin and How I beat the devil by Paul Murray. Though, i love Colin’s story, my vote goes to Danielle’s story. I really got into it, loved her sense of place and the fear she portrayed in the setting and animals througout. If you get the chance, cast your vote here!
You need no better reason to visit Carlow. In the town, we have a lively and brilliant writing group, the Carlow Co-op and a most excellent librarian, John Shorthall.
John is responsible for the creation of Penfest Carlow. It is for emerging writers though any type of writer would surely enjoy the buzz about the library and town!
This year, we have drawn in Kevin Barry(Yes, I am over excited-twice in 2 months!), Nuala Ni Chonchuir(brilliant teacher and writing encourager-is this a word?)Theo Dorgan (the poet and other creative jobs which are too long to list here), Christy Neary, Dave Lordan(lovely, lovely man who writes the way we hope to) and Niamh O Connor and Ruby Barnes.
John has pushed the programme this year and my name is down!
If you can’t get in, a visit to the Visual Space/GBS Theatre and Mimosa Tapas and Wine Bar are just around the corner from the library so you might just saunter with a glass of wine and bite to eat!
Remembering September 1913-Kilkenny Arts Festival with W.J. McCormack &Dennis Donoghue
I got the chance to nip into this talk at the Arts Festival the other night. This talk was held in the most fabulous of venues, the Parade Tower in Kilkenny Castle.
Cormac Kinsella, the curator of the festival introduced the two renowned literary historians and Yeats obsessives. It was a lively evening with each taking the stage and going into minute detail of the poem September 1913 below.
What need you, being come to sense, But fumble in a greasy till And add the halfpence to the pence And prayer to shivering prayer, until You have dried the marrow from the bone? For men were born to pray and save: Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Yet they were of a different kind, The names that stilled your childish play, They have gone about the world like wind, But little time had they to pray For whom the hangman’s rope was spun, And what, God help us, could they save? Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Was it for this the wild geese spread The grey wing upon every tide; For this that all that blood was shed, For this Edward Fitzgerald died, And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone, All that delirium of the brave? Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone, It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Yet could we turn the years again, And call those exiles as they were In all their loneliness and pain, You’d cry, ‘Some woman’s yellow hair Has maddened every mother’s son’: They weighed so lightly what they gave. But let them be, they’re dead and gone, They’re with O’Leary in the grave.
They argued very respectfully on the use of certain pronouns in the poem but admitted they were very good friends despite their literary differences. The two men were really great characters and they spoke about the misconceptions that people have about the poem. They spoke about Yeat’s disdain for a middle-class Ireland and how he upset many people by writing this poem by saying the Catholics did not care about anything but making money.
I would have liked a bit more discussion about this poem’s relevance as the post-celtic theme of literature is crying out for this sort of analysis and seeing as we had these experts, it would have been interesting to delve into that.
Instead, I will have make do with a recording of the moving poem. Here it is!
I caught “Riverrun” production in Watergate Theatre this afternoon. Riverrun is showing at the Kilkenny Arts Festival all week and it runs tonight and tomorrow for matinee and evening. Then, it’s gone!
If you want to suspend life and let go, if you love Joyce, if you hate Joyce, if you have never read Finnegan’s Wake or you have, if you want to be blown away by some serious stage presence in the form Olwen Fouéré then you must go!
Olwen is a fascinating lady to watch and listen as she interprets the voice of the river from Finnegan’s Wake. A sound dance that you will not understand but you will feel!
I headed down to the Kilkenny Arts Festival this week. I was very excited as Kevin Barry was reading along with American short story writer, Ron Rash. I had read a harsh review of Ron’s short story collection Nothing Gold Can Stay.I am not at all comfortable with overly critical reviews of literary works. I think the positive should always be focused on, a personal preference may be the issue here and there is no need to get too personal. I can only imagine how much the working writer much be beating themselves up every day without a journalist( who has probably never written or attempted to write anything before) starts to “give out”. It always makes me sit up and want to read a collection if it gets a bad review. I like to make up my own mind, thank you very much so that is part of the reason why I was attracted to this event.
That and Kevin was performing. Yes, performing. I have heard Kevin read many times, it probably sounds like I am obsessed and determined to hear him read but he tends to read a lot as he is rather brilliant and he wins every award going! When Kevin reads, you are guaranteed of a great show. Last night, he was in top form, I think he gave one of his best performances and pieces. He read a story that was published in the New Yorker last year. I had not read it, thankfully as it was wonderful to hear him reading a new piece. It is hilarious, first of all and he divided it up into 17 different pieces, all numbered, which I think added to the drama and kept the audience focused as we can be quite attention deficit at times. The character of the Garda in this story deserves to be on screen. I have always admired Kevin’s ability to bring an image of a character and a setting to life but this story effortlessly did so.
Kevin is Ireland’s Quentin Tarantino and if Kevin is not working with either Tarantino or the Coen Brothers, well then I will be shocked and surprised and will start up my own film company and give him a job or something..
You can read this story here on the New Yorker and I am not a subscriber so I would not have access but Kevin kindly gave me a signed copy of the story last night as I was leaving. I went home on a high! I blame it on his polka dot shirt and new hairdo but mostly his generosity to me. It’s the little things, guys!
And now, to Ron Rash, who I felt sorry at first. Wasn’t everyone there to hear Kevin, IMPAC winner? Well, I thought that but actually Ron had many fans! A couple of ladies came in before the show, demanding to see “Their Ron” and were raving to me about his stories but especially his novel work. They also asked him questions at the end and were generally gushing over him. Ron’s reading style was beautiful, he reads in a slow North Carolina( though he was born in South Carolina, he grew up in North) accent as he read the short story Something Rich and Strange. A powerful and gentle story about a death on a river that pervades a rescue diver’s life and thoughts. Ron was in contrast to Kevin. Their energy gelled but their content was different. They both share a talent for describing how a landscape can shape a person’s life and fate. I bought Ron’s collection and had a quick chat at the end and he was altogether a very nice and pleasant man but Kevin has yet to be beaten.
I enjoyed last night so much. It can be disappointing when you meet your heroes but Kevin is always so gentlemanly and friendly to all of his readers. We can see why he has been so successful. Good people always win out. He is currently working on scripts and screenplays and there was a big discussion on Breaking Bad, The Wire and the new TV box set to watch as tipped by Kevin is Deadwood.
Now, I am away to gaze at my signed story and purchase Deadwood. Tonight, I am attending September 1913. September 1913 is one of Yeats’ most famous poems: a response to the Dublin Lockout and an attack on the philistinism of the city’s merchant classes.
To celebrate the poem’s centenary, Kilkenny Arts Festival brings together two leading Yeats scholars, introduced by Cormac Kinsella, to explore the world of the poem. Professor Denis Donoghue is Henry James Professor of English and American Letters at New York University and a leading authority on Irish writers. Professor WJ McCormack is a former Senior Research Fellow at the University of London whose 2005 biography Blood Kindred offered a radical new interpretation of Yeats’ life and work.
Until we meet again, be good and nice to each other and keep reading.
*I borrowed the photo of the event from John Shorthall, Carlow Library who attended the event as I was a Kilkenny Arts Festival Volunteer and could not take photos while I was working. Just in case you were wondering! thanks, John!
It has begun raining here and Bantry is a memory of heat and sun and niceness.
Bantry was brilliant this year, probably because I sat a class with John Mac Kenna. He gave us homework, which seemed like a pain at the time but it was hugely beneficial and created lovely memories sitting with my husband at the top of the Maritime Hotel looking out over Bantry Bay. Pure bliss.
Deborah Levy was a recent read of mine, I had been sent her short story collection Black Vodka from her publishers and other stories and was on a mission it to finish it before Bantry as Deborah was going to be reading there.
She read a few of her stories in the Bantry Library. She definitely was my reading of the festival. Her stories were emotionally heightened by the way she read them, she is a witty woman and was utterly relaxed as she performed. We got to ask questions after and I had to ask about one of her stories. She answered it well and I wondered if authors get annoyed by the fact that readers don’t sometimes get their meaning fully and may interpret something else from it instead. She signed my book afterwards and I spotted her mingling with the biggies, Ann Enright, Nurrudin Farah and Louise Doughy in the Maritime Bar afterwards.
Also, that week we went to the Launch of Organico Cafe’s Letter Writing Cafe with Phillip Hensher speaking on the merits of handwriting.
The cafe gives out free letter writing kits every year and will even post your letters during the festival I sent one to my Aunty in Canada, it does feel off to hand write! I am not sure if Phillip convinced Simon as he wrote him a letter speaking about the benefits of technology. We haven’t heard back yet but I will keep you posted!
I couldn’t possible talk about all the other things in Bantry like the morning walks down the harbour, the fish and chips and visit to Bantry Museum. I’ve put a montage together of all the moments so enjoy! Get yourself down to Bantry next year!
The view from out hotel balcony. So good for the soul!
It is over. It is sad. I am at home but at least the sun is shining. How awful if I had returned home to rain.
The week was wonderfully amazing. Jam packed with free and paid events. A buzz of holiday saturated Bantry. Meeting with friends and debating and reading and writing.
In the last post, I told you about how we landed on the Sunday night, the launch and opening of the Festival in Bantry Library. We got all snazzed up in our best clothes and Simon went over dressed as is his lovely style. Ruth Paddell opened the festival and the J.G. Farrell award for fiction was awarded. There was excitement and wine, we had an early night as we were starting writing school the next day in the community college.
John Mac Kenna Writing Class
I decided to take a writing class this year. As you know, I am quite preoccupied by short stories and was delighted to see that John Mac Kenna was going to be my teacher. John was teaching the class “Where do short stories come from?”
By the end of the week, my fellow students and I were fully convinced that character driven stories are the way to go for the reader and the writer. We wrote, told stories, tried out new things, had our work critiqued and even did some homework in the evenings. John was a most excellent and modest teacher. He was hard on our work but gave positive feedback if it needed. I really liked his style as I don’t like the softly softly approach at all. I like the balanced approach he took and it worked. I have the makings of a story and he has asked us to send it on to him by a deadline.
Fish Publishing Launch of Anthology 2013
One of the highlights of Bantry is always this event. I was especially excited as a friend of mine, David had one of his stories included in the anthology. He read superbly and he wrote a hilarious story based on crazy housewives. Worth checking out. Humour is hard to do, for me so well done to David. There was a good mix of stories, memoirs and poetry but the Flash 2013 winner stole the show for me. I was very teary after Ken Elke’s Sisyphus and the black holes flash piece. Powerful and emotive. Just what flash should be. No need for a joke or trick ending. No need for much action, Ken’s piece verged on prose poetry and I think we can predict some more cool stuff from this guy. You can see a sample of his work here and here or buy the anthology at fishpublishing.ie
We spent the evening with some friends in the Fish Kitchen Restaurant, which is the finest in Bantry and beyond. Really, really good fish, which is lucky and a superb lemon thing with biscuit of some sort for dessert. Drinks were had in the beer garden of Ma Murphy’s Pub, the place to be. It was packed with writers, readers and locals.
Though I had no Kevin Barry to bond with this festival, I had some great chats with Dave Lordan over the week. You may know him from many things poetic and creative like but the most recent is his book of ranty fiction, First Book of Frags. It is a work of craziness, fun and satirical rants. His writing is so hyped up that you might feel a bit nervous about speaking to him. But, he actually is a lovely, no ego type and quirky in a mannerly gentleman kind of way. I hope he loves all those adjectives!
I look forward to speaking more to him at other events. His new anthology with RTE Radio 1 and New Planet Cabaret comes out in September. I hope he gets a break as he never seems to stop working! He spent the week teaching teenagers about stories and creativity. I missed their performance as we had to leave on Friday afternoon but I am sure he will be blogging about it at his blog davelordanwriter.
Just a taste for you, next week, I will be blogging about the festival and the many free events, novel in a year, Bantry Museum, the Letter Writing Cafe at Organbico, the lovely Deborah Levy, Open Mic and doing shots with Ann Enright.
The vibe was holiday abroad as we pulled into the fabness that is the town of Bantry. Last year, we had only stayed for two days but we were dying to return and do a workshop.
Last year, I met and interviewed my literary-crush, Kevin Barry. He is now the whole world’s literary crush and he has won about 1.3 million Awards.
I’m registered for the John Mc Jenna Short Story workshop, it starts at 9 so we took it easy tonight. We headed up to the Official Opening Ceremony in the library where Ruth Paddell’s poem “Mill Wheel at Bantry” was read by herself and the winner of the JG Farrell Fiction Award was announced.
We munched on our dinner of fish in the famous O Connor’s Seafood Restaurant with some friends. It was entirely blissful, we will be back and probably tomorrow.
Life is good in Bantry.
