Nuala Ní Chonchúir's Blog, page 24

A SAD DAY

Daisy Meadow - Katherine GreenI've had a strange, upsetting day with flashes of light among the tears. A very junior member of our extended family was killed in a car crash abroad. Devastating for her young mother and all the family. What can you do but send loving thoughts, weep tears of frustration and empathy, and light a candle?

The flashes of light? It seems wrong to talk about niceness in the midst of tragedy but, for one thing, I am grateful that my kids are all here with me this evening, alive and well. Other good things today were writing related, of course. Another blurb came in for Miss Emily, for example. (That is sixteen so far. People have been extraordinarily kind.) Other than that, it has been a day for reflection on how fortunate I am and how swiftly and cruelly life can change.

Keep Baby M in your thoughts, if you will. In your prayers, if you pray.

POEM FOR IRELAND - FULL SHORTLIST

The full list of poems shortlisted for the Poem for Ireland is:
A Christmas Childhood by Patrick KavanaghA Disused Shed in Co. Wexford by Derek MahonDublin by Louis MacNeiceEaster 1916 by William Butler YeatsFill Arís by Seán Ó RíordáinFilleadh ar an gCathair by Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh (yay!!)Making Love Outside Áras an Uachtaráin by Paul DurcanQuarantine by Eavan BolandThe Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks by Paula Meehan
When All the Others Were Away at Mass by Seamus Heaney
I had nominated Death of an Irish Woman by Michael Hartnett, so I am disappointed not to see that on the list but I am thrilled for the very talented and lovely Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, a young Kerry poet who works in the Irish Department in NUI Galway.
Details about voting and more info here at the Irish Times.

POEM FOR IRELAND - HALF OF THE SHORTLIST

The first five poems shortlisted for the A Poem for Ireland, as chosen by the John Murray Show, are:

Easter 1916 - W.B. Yeats
A Christmas Childhood - Patrick Kavanagh
Fill Arís - Seán Ó Riordáin
Quarantine - Eavan Boland 
Making Love Outside Aras an Uachtaráin - Paul Durcan

The next five will be announced tonight on The Works on RTÉ television.

ANNE ENRIGHT - FICTION LAUREATE

I am thrilled that Anne Enright is our inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. The honour is well deserved and she will do us proud. Brava, Anne! More here in the .

LSAD - VISUAL FICTION

A very short story - Fred EerdekensI started a new collaborative project with the 4th year Visual Communications students at Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) yesterday. Their project is called Visual Fiction and they are using short stories as a jumping-off point for work that will show how good design and typography can play an important part in the appreciation of literature.

The project is in collaboration with lit mag The Stinging Fly and editor/publisher Declan Meade and myself picked 10 stories for the thirty students to work from - everything from Guy de Maupassant to Claire Louise Bennett (whose short story collection Pond will be out in April from the Stinging Fly Press).

Yesterday the students received their brief, as well as the stories they will work from, and we spent the day exploring what short stories are and what they hope to achieve. And they wrote. A few brave types shared their writing and their work was great - as good as anything from wannabe writers. Art finds its way.

They were a warm bunch, as were their lecturers, and I am really looking forward to heading back to Limerick in a fortnight to see/hear about their ideas and plans for their projects. Having looked at some of the fantastic design work these students have already produced, I can't wait to see what they come up with - there is a feeling of anything might happen and probably will.

EVENING ECHO'S BOOKS FOR 2015

In today's Evening Echo, an article by Des Breen, regarding books forthcoming in 2015, including Miss Emily.

ENNIS BOOK CLUB FESTIVAL - 'Ones to Watch'

Colin Barrett, Sara Baume and myself are at Ennis Book Club Festival, in conversation with Evelyn O'Rourke, in an event called 'Ones to Watch'. Saturday 7th March, 3pm in the Glór Theatre.

GOLDEN PEN AWARD

THE 17th ANNUAL GOLDEN PEN AWARDS

Have you got a story to tell or a poem to share with readers?

If so, why not send them to: The Golden Pen, Gurteen, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway before April 1st 2015?

First Prize- €100 plus Runner-up prizes.
€5  per entry  & €3 for primary pupils. (£4/£2 Sterling)
Open theme. 2000 word limit for stories & 70 lines for  poems. Winning entries will be published in the festival magazine. Please send personal details on a separate sheet. Winners will be notified by June 10th.

PODCAST OF I.T. BOOK CLUB CHAT ABOUT *THE CLOSET OF SAVAGE MEMENTOS*

I joined presenter Gary Quinn and two IT Book Club members, Phillip Watt and Emer Sugrue, to discuss The Closet of Savage Mementos in December. The podcast is online now.

On the podcast, I keep doing this up inflection thing with word ends. Most annoying to listen to but it may have been the nerves :)

Chapter One of Closet in the IT

The Irish Times features Chapter One of The Closet of Savage Mementos today as part of its book club activities. Here.