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Nollaig Shona Daoibh – Merry Christmas to All
From: “A Christmas Childhood,” Patrick Kavanagh (1943) “Outside the cow-house my motherMade the music of milking;The light of her stable-lamp was a starAnd the frost of Bethlehem made it twinkle. A water-hen screeched in the bog,Mass-going feetCrunched the wafer-ice on the pot-holes,Somebody wistfully twisted the bellows wheel. My child poet picked out the lettersOn the grey stone,In silver the wonder of a Christmas townland,The winking glitter of a frosty dawn.” The above is an excerpt from Patrick Kavanagh’s “A Christmas Childhood.” The poem was first published in The Irish Press on the 24th of December, 1943. Photo by Christine O’Connor One Response to Nollaig Shona Daoibh – Merry Christmas to…
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CUMMISKEY ALLEY New and Selected Poems by Tom Sexton
Former Alaskan poet Laureate Tom Sexton’s latest volume of poetry is “Cummiskey Alley.” The collection is named after Lowell’s first Irishman, Hugh Cummiskey, who walked from Boston to Lowell with a group of Irish laborers. Cummiskey and many other Irish labors dug miles of canals in Lowell, and helped birth the nation’s first industrial revolution. The following poems explore the American experiences of immigrants, largely Irish, and their descendants. The book is available from loompress.com or amazon.com Amerikay, 1832, a Letter When your ship sails into Boston Harbor stay with those who are walking to Lowell By road or along the bank of the canal that goes from Charlestown to…
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Ireland’s Most Loved Independent Bookshops – by Trasna Writers
This week on Trasna, we feature a few of Ireland’s Independent Bookshops. Ireland has over 200 Independent bookshops, and they fulfill a role that larger chains don’t: they are true members of their community. As poet Enda Wyley explains: “Here you drop in to browse books, have a chat about the latest releases and sometimes bump into book loving friends too.” Many of these shops promote local authors, have knowledgable staff, have extensive online services, and offer overseas shipments. A few of this year’s contributors share their own most loved independent bookshops, and why they matter. What are yours? We’d love to hear. Winding Stair Bookshop, Dublin ENDA WYLEY ~…
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The 2020 ‘An Post’ Irish Book Award Winners
Every year, the Irish Book Awards celebrate “the extraordinary quality of Irish writing” and help bring those books judged to be the best to a wider readership. These annual awards are also intended to promote the Irish publishing and book-selling industries. The awards include an inspiring array of 18 categories within a variety of literary genres. Celebrated equally with the best novel and non-fiction book are the best sports book, cookbook, crime book and Irish language book. In addition, the awards also celebrate the best short story of the year and the best poem. The awards are unique in that they involve an entire literary community: publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors, and perhaps…
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ELIZABETH BOWEN and MOLLY KEANE
by Thomas McCarthy The month of November, with its decreasing hours of daylight and lengthening nights, offers an opportunity to turn inwards. It is traditionally a month in Ireland when we remember those who have passed on, indeed the 1st and 2nd of November are known respectively as All Saints and All Souls days. On Trasna, our focus this month will be on Irish writers who have passed on and who are remembered by contemporary writers and scholars. Here, poet Thomas McCarthy explores the novels of Elizabeth Bowen and Molly Keane, in a piece that discusses literature and the world of the Anglo-Irish, and also the importance of friendship . …
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On You Go: A Remembrance of Dermot Healy
by Daniel Wade The month of November, with its decreasing hours of daylight and lengthening nights, offers an opportunity to turn inwards. It is traditionally a month in Ireland when we remember those who have passed on, indeed the 1st and 2nd of November are known respectively as All Saints and All Souls days. On Trasna, our focus this month will be on Irish writers who have passed on and who are remembered by contemporary writers and scholars. In this essay, poet and playwright Daniel Wade introduces readers to the poetry of Dermot Healy. On You Go: A Remembrance of Dermot Healy “What would the living do If they had…
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Introducing John McGahern
by Dr. Richard Hayes The month of November, with its decreasing hours of daylight and lengthening nights, offers an opportunity to turn inwards. It is traditionally a month in Ireland when we remember those who have passed on, indeed the 1st and 2nd of November are known respectively as All Saints and All Souls days. On Trasna, our focus this month will be on Irish writers who have passed on and who are remembered by contemporary writers and scholars. In this article, Dr. Richard Hayes considers the output of the writer John McGahern, (1934 – 2006), and argues that McGahern is the greatest novelist since Joyce, with an importance not…
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The belated discovery of a role model: Nessa O’Mahony on Eavan Boland
The month of November, with its decreasing hours of daylight and lengthening nights, offers an opportunity to turn inwards. It is traditionally a month in Ireland when we remember those who have passed on, indeed the 1st and 2nd of November are known respectively as All Saints and All Souls days. On Trasna our focus this month will be on Irish writers who have passed on and who are remembered by contemporary writers and scholars. Our first post this month is by poet Nessa O’Mahony who writes of the influence of the poet Eavan Boland (1944 – 2020) on her own development as a writer, which led to her subsequently…
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“Woodbines and Tall Tales” and “A Christmas Wake”
by Bernie Condon Throughout October, Trasna will focus on the Celtic festival of Samhain, better known to Americans as Halloween. The holiday originated in Ireland and celebrates that time of year when the veil between this world and the next grows thin, and life seems more mysterious. This week we feature two poems by Bernie Condon, as well as her grandmother’s tale of the Banshee which inspired “Woodbines and Tall Tales.” The attached video was produced by Will McLellan of The Wood of O, and features Bernie retelling a family ghost story. Woodbines and Tall Tales My Grandmother smoked a woodbine Every night by the fire. “Tis the only little pleasure I have” She would splutter between puffs. Curled at…
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Rathcroghan, the Irish Otherworld, & the Home of Halloween
Daniel Curley Throughout October, Trasna will focus on the Celtic festival of Samhain, better known to Americans as Halloween. The holiday originated in Ireland and celebrates that time of year when the veil between this world and the next grows thin, and life seems more mysterious. In the medieval village of Tulsk, in County Roscommon is the Rathcroghan Visitor Center. The Center is located in the heart of a rich archeological landscape. This week we feature an essay by archeologist Daniel Curley who explains its connection to Halloween. Rathcroghan, the Irish Otherworld, & the Home of Halloween The Rathcroghan archaeological landscape, Co. Roscommon, Ireland is a collection of 240 identified archaeological sites contained within a 6.5km (725ha) area…