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

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

International Literary Festival Dublin

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Anakana Schofiel, authors, Dublin, International Literary Festival Dublin, Ireland, Lucy Caldwell, reading, Selina Guinness, Svetlána Alexiévich, writing

Ireland is known for it’s writers and this week Dublin is celebrating all things literary. Yesterday evening I went to a talk with two wonderful Irish writers: Lucy Caldwell & Anakana Schofield. They both read from their books and engaged in a lively discussion about character, language and setting hosted by lecturer Selina Guinness.

It was truly inspiring to listen to two successful writers talk about what they do and listen to their hard won words. Sadly their weren’t that many people in the audience, those who didn’t go really missed out, but since we were such a small crowd I got the chance to exchange a few words with the authors – and both were generous with their time.

On the way home, a bright green bag holding Lucy Caldwell’s short story collection Multitudes swinging by my side, I felt really lucky to live in a city that celebrates  authors and gives them so much space.

me getting my book signed by Lucy Caldwell (courtesy of ILFD)

Tonight I will be listening to Svetlána  Alexiévich, the Belarusian investigative journalist and non-fiction writer who won the Noble Prize in Literature last year, the first journalist to ever have done so and only the second non-fiction writer since Winston Churchill in 1953 to have been given the prize. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say and hope to get my copy of her book signed.

There are more events I’ll be attending as the week turns into the weekend and I hope that by listening to all these acclaimed authors some of their words will steep into my fingers and help me on my own literary endevours.

 

 

 

 

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

writing and reading, two different worlds

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alexia, BBC, BBC One, documentary, Dr. Oliver Sacks, Howard Engel, neurology, reading, sight, The Man Who Forgot how to Read and Other Stories., writing

Imagine waking up one morning in a house filled with books and discovering you had forgotten how to read. This may seem a very unlikely scenario but it happened to Canadian crime writer Howard Engel in the year 2000.

Engel discovered he had suffered a stroke during the night and was diagnosed with a rare condition called alexia, also known as word-blindness. The stroke had effected his visual cortex, making it inaccessible for his brain to recognize letters, rendering it impossible for him to read.

However he soon discovered that while reading was no longer possible, he could still write. So write he did: in 2001 he published two books – more since then. Interstingly  he could briefly read what he had just written, but within a few minutes even his own handwriting turn into a mystery to him.

As time went by Engel discovered if he allowed his hand to retrace the letters he couldn’t visually identify, his brain could translate the unrecognizable symbols through movement into words, and he could understand, read. Maybe slowly, but the world of reading was no longer a closed book to him.

Engel then developed a technique in which he traces the letters he sees on a pages with his tongue pressed up against his teeth. By doing so his brain identifies the movement and translates it, allowing him to read, still very slowly but no longer impossible.

This fascinating story was just one of the incredible tales world famous neurologist and author Dr. Oliver Sacks talked about in the unusual BBC documentary: The Man Who Forgot how to Read and Other Stories. The documentary looks at how we as humans translate the visual world around us and how it effects who we are.

Dr Oliver Sacks was an incredible inspiration for all who long to understand what makes our minds work. And while his recent death is a great loss to the world of Neurology his stories, like in the BBC documentary will live on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012b42j

reading, writing and trying to find time to sleep

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American College Dublin, lack of sleep, literary greats, masters, reading, working, writing, writing &reading

This past week has been more than a little busy – between lecturing, trying to find work and my masters I have been trying to find enough hours to sleep – Wednesday night was particularly touch with a 3am bedtime and a 7.30am wake up.

To catch up a little bit on those lost hours and to avoid even darker circles under my eyes, I indulged in a short lie-in this morning. However it was only a short reprieve since my dinning room table still showed the evidence of my late night study session. Piles of printouts and underlined passages the reminders of what is done and still left to do.

But I decided to prolong my relaxation and have enjoyed a morning over cups of tea and the papers, now I need to head out to stock my fridge – its painful emptiness reflected in the grumbles of my tummy.

Once that’s done my bum will deepen the imprints on my dining room chair once more, as I forage through the literary works of some of the worlds great writers, before I turn my own humble attempts to the keyboard and write a few words of my own.

literary mayhem greeted me on my dining room table this morning, no room for my breakfast

long days

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ACD, busy, masters, reading, work, writing

It’s the second week of my Masters, first week back lecturing,  and the last few days have been very long – sleep seems to have become a luxury not  a necessity. But it’s been good, difficult and challenging.

Yesterday I was the first one up to have my novel criticised and as I sat on that hard, uncomfortable chair (both literally and figuratively) my novel was torn apart and shredded, my work demolished.

Of course the whole situation upset me somewhat, while it wasn’t personal it wasn’t an easy place to be in. However, I do have to admit, that what was said, what was criticised was right. Every poke, prod and pull at my words and sentences had a point, sometimes even several. Not that it made me feel any better, but hopefully it will make me a better writer.

So now, that my first draft is trashed, I will start afresh, rewrite, rework and re-imagine.

left reading – right the destruction of my novel

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