from online to paper

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art, books, Dublin Book Festival, Ireland, literary magazines, Magazines and their Makers, publications, reading, writing

After spending my Saturday in the world of blogging my Sunday afternoon was filled with the written word on paper. The Dublin Book Festival was hosting the event Magazines and their Makers, a session with editors and publishers of five of the leading literary magazines in Ireland.

As an avid reader and an attempting writer it was interesting to hear from those who take the chance and publish less mainstream works. It seems that Ireland is experiencing somewhat of a ‘golden-age’ of literary journals and magazines as over the past few years several new ones have joined the more established names.

Most of the magazines on the panel, like Gorse, Crannog, Cyphers and Winter Pages, all focus on fiction writing, poetry and other forms of artistic collaborations The Dublin Review also focuses on non-fiction writing in the form of essays, reportage, travel writing and memoir writing. 

When asked why choose print over online all the panel seemed to be of one mind. They expressed their love for the published form as an object, something tangible and long-lasting. They spoke about how our ‘instant age’ has the desire to ‘slow down’ and ‘concentrate’ on what is in our hands.

And while all are more or less are classified as magazines they saw their literary collections as ‘artisanal’, nothing that would be quickly disposed of but would be an item to collect and take pleasure in time and time again. Of course each magazine is of its time, but like a time capsule it conserves it and gives insight into the years gone by.

Another thing that all of the editors and publishers on the panel agreed on was that the magazines were not created for the writers but for the readers. That no matter what form they decided on, what pieces they chose for publication, how well constructed something is or how experimental a writer goes, if the reader isn’t included, isn’t able to partake it will not work.

All in all it was refreshing to experience people who invest so much time and effort into the literary form even if financial success is very unlikely.  There truly is something inspiring about people who do things because they love it.

the power of words the force behind this train

a book turned into sculpture, the words brought to life

bookish week

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All We Shall Know, books, Donal Ryan, Emma Donoghu, readings, Rick O'Shea, Rick O'Shea's Book Club, The Wonder, writing

As Autumn settles over Dublin I’ve spent the week indulging in one of my favourite pastimes – books. I listened to Emma Donoghue talk about her latest book The Wonder and enjoyed hearing Donal Ryan chat with Rick O’Shea about his newly published book All We Shall Know.

One of the things that I found particularly interesting was how differently both authors talked about how they write. While Emma Donoghue explained that she was ‘hopeless at plot’ and thus needed to plan out her story, Donal Ryan seemed to take more of an organic approach to where the story would go by allowing his characters to find their own way on the page.

Both authors are full time writers but while Emma Donoghue enjoys the freedom this provides her, while trying to find the time to work between picking up her kids and drop them off again, Donal Ryan is planning on returning to his old job because he prefers the security of knowing where his next paycheck will be coming from.

‘I use to be a civil servant who longed to be a writer, now I may be the only writer who longs to be  civil servant’ was how he put it in his own words. And the reason for this is his belief that he will be more disciplined with his writing: ‘Now it takes all morning to go to the post office, but when I was working I was religious about spending three hours every night writing. I had to be.’

Now the week is coming to an end I can’t wait to spend an afternoon escaping into the worlds these writers have created and with the weather inviting me to stay indoors wearing woolly socks, drinking cups of tea I think my plans for Sunday are now made.

 

can’t wait to know whats hidden behind this cover

the latest book by Emma Donoghue

book dilemma

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book, books, Ira Glass, Justin Cronin, Lisa McInerney, new books, Olivia Laing, reading, summer reads, The City of Mirrors, The Glorious Heresies, The Lonely City, The New Kings of Nonfiction

I have a problem – one of the literary kind. As someone who loves to read books are always a big part of any trip I take, but since books are heavy you can only ever take a few (yes I know there is Kindle, but I don’t have one and I do enjoy a ‘real’ book).

This year I wanted to be good, I had a plan: one book the rest would be borrowed or bought once abroad. But now that plan has been thwarted. Yesterday afternoon Amazon knocked on my door, books I had ordered a while ago had finally arrived and I wasn’t expecting them to, as they were per-ordered.

I only wanted to take the book I was reading, The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney and then give it to my sister. But since I started dipping in and out of The Lonely City by Olivia Laing I had succumb to the idea of two books, after all the second is sort of research. But now with the latest delivery I am faced with temptation.

One of the books that arrived is The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin, a book I have been waiting for. I stumbled on The Passage  a few years ago and devoured it, Luckily for me The twelve had just been published and I was able to keep reading. But it took until now (nearly three years) for the last in the trilogy to be published and I really don’t want to wait any longer to crack the spine. But it’s a heavy hardback and will take up a lot of space in my suitcase.

Another of the books is The New Kings of Nonfiction edited by Ira Glass, research for a project I am working on. It would be the perfect summer read, a balance to what I will be doing and time well spent while away,  but again 450 pages to carry with me.

The last two books are easy reads, summer books that I could wait to plunge into, but do I want to? After all the lure of a new book is hard to resist.

So now I have a bookish dilemma, how many books can I take or should I practice delayed gratification and suffer until the middle of August?

can I resist the lure?

 

 

 

tackling my TRP

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books, rain, reading, sun, to read pile, TRP, weather, wet

Today is one of those wonderfully weird Irish days. The sun lures you out with smiles and shine to only disappear, giggling, behind a big, black cloud, which in turn empties out bucket loads of rain, turning sunny patches into puddles.

But after the good weather we have been having I won’t complain, especially since it is giving me  a great excuse to stay home and have a lazy day.  With my TRP (to read pile) ever growing and I think I may just curl up with a cup of tea, listen to the rain on my window and flee into the magical world of storytelling …

Weekly Photo Challenge – Spare

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books, Dublin, ILFD, International Literary Festival Dublin, photography, photos, reading, Spare, spare time, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge : Spare

Tomorrow the International Literary Festival Dublin (ILFD)  is coming to an end. All week I have been going to readings and book signings, meeting new friends and dipping in to the world of literature.

A side effect, and one I could have easily predicted, is that my to ‘to read pile’ has grown. Four new books hold lots of promises between their covers and all I need now is a bit of spare time to discover them in.

As if the world was conspiring to make just that happen I found a small bar of Lindt chocolate hidden between the pages of my newspaper this morning, a gift from The Irish Times to sweetened the day. So now, armed with a cup of tea and the desire to read, I will sit out in the afternoon sun for a while and begin my journey through my new friends – the perfect way to spend any spare time.

the books (so far) the ILFD has made me buy – now all I need is some spare time to read them in

it’s all Russian to me

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books, Dublin, Dublin literary festival, ILFD, Ireland, literary festival, Nobel Prize Winner 2015, Svetlána Alexiévich

Last night I sat on the most uncomfortable chairs for and hour and a half to listen to Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich talk about her work. The event was billed as a conversion but it ended up being more like a lecture – Irish journalist Conor O’Clery  would ask a question and off she’d go, only interrupted by her interpreter to allow us to catch up with what she was saying in Russian.

Her stories were long and winding, circling around questions she asks herself and answers she is trying to find. Fascinated by stories she has made it her life’s work to listen to the stories of those who are usually not asked. She likes to go beyond the expected and find the mundane that is tinted with the extraordinary.

When asked if her international success and her Nobel Prize have changed the way she is viewed in her own country, she lives in Belarus, she sighed and said ‘being in opposition to the authorities is a long held tradition by writers where I am from, but now we are also in opposition to our own people, this is new and much harder.’ She went on to say that during the fall of the Soviet Union there was so much hope but that ‘freedom doesn’t come over night, freedom is a long, long way.’

‘We didn’t really know our people, we worshiped an ideal of what we believed the people to be- but they weren’t. So we built bridges to go over rivers, but the rivers then went another way.’

Chernobyl is of particular interest to Alexievich ‘there was no precedence’, that made the stories the people told so unique and surreal. ‘Soldiers were on rooftops washing the them, and scrubbing firewood – it was like in science fiction. As physical beings we could not grasp the unseen, what we could not smell, touch or see.’

After an hour and a half shifting around on my seat, a dance everyone in the audience was occupied with, it was time to join the long queue to have my copy of Chernobly prayer signed. And I have to say that was the only point in the evening where I was somewhat disappointed – Alexievich signed my copy but her attention was elsewhere. A Russian speaking woman was monopolizing her attention, not very considerate to the rest of us who waited in line. And it was clear that Alexievich was very tired and maybe I should have just let the opportunity slide- but then how often does one get to ‘meet’ a Nobel Prize winner?

An added bonus of the night – I met two wonderful women in the queue and we ended the evening over wine, olives and lots of chat – in English.

Svetlana Alexievich (courtesy of Headstuff.org)

a day in Dun Laoghaire

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books, Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, Kevin Barry, literary festival, Nell Zink, photography, photos, Sundays

Books, literary readings, a market and sunshine – the perfect combination for a wonderful Sunday.

Yesterday I got on the dart and traveled the short distance down the coast to Dub Laoghaire and the Mountains to the Sea book festival. In the morning I listened to author Nell Zink in conversation with RTE’s Sinéad Gleeson. Zink read from her two books The Wallcreeper and Mislaid, spoke about being a writer before she even knew she was one and how Jonathan Franzen had trouble believing her.

In the late afternoon I was enchanted with Kevin Barry as he read from his wonderfully funny and clever Beatlebone. It was inspiring to hear what he had to say about writing and finding the right voice for the characters and stories he wants to tell.

I spent the hours in between the two events I wandering around Dun Laoghaire and taking a few pictures and enjoying a cappuccino in the sun.

 

 

literary day

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books, Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, From the Mountains to the Sea, Ireland, literary, pavilion

Today I will be heading out to Dún Laoghaire , a small seaside town in south County Dublin. And while the town is pretty and quaint the main reason for boarding the dart and heading out for the day is the From the Mountains to the Sea book festival.

I tickets to two readings and I am looking forward to a day surrounded by books and like minded people. And since I have some time between the readings I will be meeting up with some visiting German girls for lunch and a chat – and hopefully there will be a bit of a buzz around.

My camera is packed and I hope the sun will push the clouds aside and brighten up the day. But whatever happens I am looking forward to ending my busy week with a literary day.

the pavilion on the Dún Laoghaire peer, taken a few years ago with some other German visitors

a parcel of books

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books, Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards, christmas, parcel of books, reading, Rick O'Shea, Rick O'Shea's Book Club, Sara Baume, spill simmer falter wither, spill simmer falter wither by Sara Baume, Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Book Selection, winning

A few weeks ago – nearly a month now – I entered a competition, and as luck would have it I even won. It was run by the wonderful Rick O’Shea  from RTE and his Book Club in conjunction with the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards, so the prize was a parcel of books and it arrived yesterday in the post.

It was such a lovely surprise and I had no idea what the selection would be –  there were different categories and each winner of each category got a different one. I won the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year, so all the books in the parcel are from new Irish writers, and what a wonderful selection it is.

spill simmer falter wither by Sara Baume won the prize in the end, but I have heard lots of good about all the other nominees. And an added bonus – I haven’t read  a single one of them yet.

So, by the looks of it that is my Christmas sorted, hours dipping in and out of foreign worlds in front of the fire looking up at the tree sounds like the perfect way to spend this Christmas Season.

Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Book Selection

re-organising my bookshelf

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books, bookshelves, masters, reading, thoughts, writing

Books are a very important part of my life and I like to surround myself with them. Since my home is tiny there are limits to how many books I can own, so I tend give quite a few to charity and only keep the ones I truly love.

So, I do understand that books take up space but I really find something somewhat unsettling about homes that don’t have bookshelves and people who don’t read mystify me.

But when the postman knocked on my door yesterday morning with a brown parcel filled with books in his hands, I realised, that I needed to reorganise my bookshelf to accommodate the books for my Masters. And while time was tight yesterday I spend 30minutes freeing up some space for them and now they proudly sit on the top shelf in my little home office, my eyes unable to escape them.

The next step is to read them all, understand them and make sure as the knowledge captured between the covers makes it into my head somehow.  But since – if researchers are to be believed – reading reduces stress and Alzheimer risk, expands your vocabulary and analytical thinking, improves both memory and focus and makes you a better writer I really can’t see a downside to owning more books!

the beginning of my ‘Master’ collection