Category: events

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I’ve been mostly reading a story or two in Amsterdam!

Had a little first family city break to Amsterdam last week. Emrys was the perfect boy and Simon was the perfect husband, as always!

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We stayed in an Air B and B apartment and I got the chance to read a couple of stories. I am savaging Wells Tower, “Everything burned, everything ravaged” presently and managed the first story from the Madeleine D’arcy collection, Waiting for the bullet. I am so nearly finished with Paul O’ Reilly’s, The girl missing from the window.

Holidays are great for reading and I am pretty chuffed that the Mboy slept on the plane there and back. Happy days! Writing was zero though, there was far too much walking to be done! We hit the Jewish Museum, the Jewish Quarter, Van Gogh Museum, the Miro Gardens and the Ann Frank House to name a few. Mboy was also treated to the Ajax football arena by his father. I was let off to walk, shop and drink coffee and read. Nice tradition to start!

We also treated the Mboy to a classic, Dutch, children’s book. Miffy is a character I remember well and I am sure you do too! I bought the original and first Miffy for him. I’d like to start a thing. Problem is that Dick Bruna, who wrote these books 60 years ago wrote them in the spirit of the time so Miffy’s Mum is busy cleaning the house and Miffy’s Dad is out in the garden. Proper order. 😉

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The Girl missing from the Window by Paul O’ Reilly’s debut collection launch

There was great glee and fun last week in the Lewis Household. A short story collection. An Irish short story collection. A local launch of an Irish short story collection.

The Girl missing from the Window by Paul O’ Reilly was launched in the Presentation Centre in Enniscorthy during Focal Literary Festival.

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Paul O Reilly is a writer of stories, drama, screen plays and is also a talented musician and techy guy. He has a busy family and runs his own company. He has been published in every single good literary magazine there ever was and has been listed for every single good fiction competition there ever was. He is also a terribly nice man. We could be jealous but let’s not.

He read a couple of excerpts from his collection, “What Rosie Did” seems to the be the one that is being pulled out everywhere and rightly so, it is very interesting and does reel you right in. I have read nearly half the collection already, which is pretty good as I have been terribly busy with painting pebble dash at the front of the house, raising a baby, boot camping with buggy buddy babies and meeting my fiction group to get all critiqued! I am also completing a short story at present, facilitating a professional development techy course for primary teachers online and preparing a teaching demo for my upcoming place at the Summer Writing Institute in Maynooth University at end of the month.

However, I will be posting my thoughts on Paul’s collection and getting stuck into Edge Hill Short Story Readers’ Prize, Madeleine D’arcy’s debut short story collection.

Summer 2015 could be called the year of the Irish short story collections!

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Festival of Writing and Ideas 2015

This is our fourth year attending the festival and 2015 was very much the same as every other year, which is lovely and pleasant, by the way!

a mother

I only booked for one show, the Kevin Barry and Tommy Tiernan interview. It was billed as a rambling of sorts and I do not enjoy the ramblings of Tommy Tiernan and I could not imagine Kevin rambling. I was afraid it would not work and make poor Kevin all embarrassed and stuff. I was afraid Tommy would “diss” Kevin and make the hour all about him and his “comedic” episodes.IMAG0582

It actually worked, although the first few minutes were tense as Tommy, indeed, did try to slag Kevin but Kevin did not allow himself to get involved in the stereotypical slagging of literary folk and events. Kevin was funnier than Tommy yet Tommy was very funny too. They had a natural chemistry and it left me thinking that perhaps Tommy Tiernan should be writing short stories too!

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After this, Kevin read from his upcoming, new novel Beatlebone, due this Autumn. I am going to be honest. I was not hooked with what I heard but I will buy and read, of course and have no doubt it will be excellent and brilliant.

The book tent was full of many delectable books, I bought the new books by Anne Enright, The Green Road, and Belinda Mc Keon, Tender. Tender is, so far, very interesting and I will be posting my thoughts on it soon.

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We brought a picnic with far too much food, we also enjoyed the excellent organic coffee there, with garlic and cheese home fries, which were most yum.

Things are different now, before we had Emrys, we would go all weekend and lounge about from morning to night, reading, writing, chatting and eating. This time, Borris was shorter but as lovely with our baby boy. He enjoyed crawling on the pebbles and trying to eat them. We will allow him to go again next year so.

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Carlow Arts Festival 2015:Preview

The Carlow Arts Festival opens this Friday, 29th May and runs until Sunday, 7th June. It is incorporating the History and Literature Festival in Borris House as well.

There is loads to catch but I will list a couple of events that I think will be rather special. I don’t want you to waste your time, you know…

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Friday, 29th May-The Opening Night at 7pm in Visual Centre will set the tone. Expect many VIPs and wine. Plus chats and the official opening of the “Cultural Quarter” in Dublin Street where Dublin Street is opened up with art, crafts, food, street entertainment and much more.

Saturday night, 30th May brings a T.B.A event(Time Based Art) event, it is kicking off at 59, Dublin Street where Marc Ivan O Gorman curates a coach house type wine tavern. Interested? Well, hold on for more! That night at 8 p.m., there will be a “fragrant pot-pourri of miscellaneous emerging performers from music, literature and theatre and I happen to know the very funky, unique and eclectic Maressa Sheehan will be performing some of her poetry. Maressa is a member of the Carlow Writers’ Co-operative and she is worth the ticket to the event itself!

Sunday, 31st May is excellent for the families, non families, babies and non-baby families…We have the Carlow Regatta at 1p,m, a Gospel Hootenay at 2 p.m. and a massive firework display in Carlow Town Park when unfortunately a little baby boy of ours will be sleeping.

Wednesday, 3rd th June at 6:30 p.m. our writers’ group, the Carlow Writers’ Co-operative perform along side the U.S based Mc Henry County College National Champions of Literature and Performance. Eek. In a show called “Theatre of Story and Verse“. Expect poetry, story and drama with many innovative styles running back and forth across the stage in Deighton Hall. Deighton Hall is a fab venue and I am looking forward to throwing some shapes there.

Thursday, 4th June at 7:30 p.m. in the Teach Dolmen Bar upstairs, the Carlow Writers will host a poetry slam and we are hoping to whoop ass against those very cool American award-winning poetry slam people! There will also be an open mic so bring your music, stories and poetry. Dancing at Lughnasa is being performed in GBH Theatre at the same time but you know the Poetry Slam is more your thing, don’t you?

 

Friday, 5th, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th brings the glorious and noble Festival of Writing and Ideas. Again, we have a massive kudos line-up of Ann Enright, Belinda Mc Keon, Kevin Barry with Tommy Tiernan(should be rubbish or brilliant), Colin Barrett, Mary Costello, Lisa Mc Inerney, Rob Doyle, Neil Jordan, Michael Harding and so many more I cannot fit in.

The Borris House setting is relaxing. The food is divine. A flowing book tent is available for you to spend all of your money. There is no entrance fee so you could just come and picnic, lounge, drink or not drink and definitely chat and read. Be there or else.

The last and quite final thing to mention is the new “Barges down the Barrow” event happening from 30th May-5th June, it is being dubbed as “Ireland’s First floating Festival” and we all know that non-floating festivals are passe. Floating is the new black in the festival world. It starts in Carlow on 31st and sails its way down to Borris to finish on 5th June. There will be food and music and all sorts of tricks on board.

Plenty above to keep you going. I might see you there. Until then, good luck.

 

 

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Blog Awards Ireland 2014-party on like it’s the 80s!

It is that time of year again-the judging process has begun for the Blog Awards Ireland! I love this event, it is always fun and glam and rozz.ie has been nominated again!

www.blogawardsireland.com
www.blogawardsireland.com

Whatever happens, I hope to there all glammed up 80 style as that is the theme. Never a big fan of 80s fashion but sure, we will give it a go! Nuala Ni Chonchuir and her blog Women Rule Writer alongside The Bohemyth magazine are both in the running so fingers crossed at least one lit blog gets through to the next round!

You can buy early bird tickets for €30 and after a certain date, they will cost you €50 so get in!

Happy voting and happy judging!

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Dubliners 100 out on 7th June

I am ultra excited, man.

I love Dubliners. We all do. Studied in uni and loved ever since. Tramp Press and Commissioning Editor, Thomas Morris(he is Stinging Fly’s new fiction editor) are publishing a reinterpretation of James Joyce’s short story collection on the 5th June at the bargain price of €15.

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They have also got some pretty funky and cool writers on board. So far, on that list are Donal Ryan, John Boyne, Eimear Mc Bride and Paul Murray. To make things even more brilliant, these writers will be in conversation with Thomas Morris down at my(I am claiming this festival as I practically live next door to Borris House. Almost) Festival of Writing and Ideas in Borris House on Sunday, 15th June. The Festival runs on 14th and the 15th of June and so far, the lineup is kicking the other two “biggest and bestest” literary festivals in Ireland.

I am saying no more other than buy the book and go to Borris.

Eveline, Donal Ryan’s clever reversal of Joyce’s original tale, will be published in The Irish Times on Saturday, June 7th.

Dubliners 100 will be published by Tramp Press on June 5th, priced €15.

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Mike McCormack&Nuala Ni Chonchuir:The art of the short story-Dublin Writers’ Festival

This discussion will be chaired by  new fiction editor of the Stinging Fly Magazine, Thomas Morris. Held in Smock Alley Theatre at 1pm this Thursday, 22nd May. It will be brilliant. I won’t be able to make it but encourage those in Dublin to drop into this lunchtime talk. If I worked in Dublin, I’d be certainly nipping out!

Mike McCormack&Nuala Ni Chonchuir:The art of the short story-Dublin Writers’ Festival

www.dublinwritersfestival.com
www.dublinwritersfestival.com

The short story has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, spurred on by the support of leading journals like The Stinging Fly. But what makes the short story such a unique form? How do you create a character, a plot and a whole universe in so few words? Thomas Morris, editor of The Stinging Fly, talks to two acclaimed short story writers to uncover the secrets of what William Trevor calls “the art of the glimpse”.

Mike McCormack is a short story writer and novelist. His collection Getting it in the Head won him the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, while his novel Notes from a Coma was described as “the greatest Irish novel of the decade” (The Irish Times). His new collection, Forensic Sons, is published in July.

Nuala Ní Chonchúir is a novelist, poet and short story writer. She has published four collections of short fiction, includingMother America, which was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize. Her short stories have won numerous awards. Her new novel, The Closet of Savage Mementos, was published in April.

Presented in association with Dublin Book Festival.

 
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Carlow Co-operative on The Write Show, KCLR FM and Carlow Arts Festival 2014

The Write Show will be performed live from Carlow Central Library, and broadcast on KCLR on Monday June 9th at 6pm. Tickets are free.

After releasing its first anthology in 2013, What Champagne Was Like, The Carlow Writers’ Co-operative have turned their attention to writing for broadcast.

www.carlowartsfestival.com
www.carlowartsfestival.com

Working for six months with one of Ireland leading radio writer-producers, John McKenna (whose credits while at RTE include numerous contributions to Sunday Miscellany and his award-winning documentary series on Leonard Cohen), this ambitious collective have assembled an eclectic programme of material for performance in front of a live audience (you) for broadcast by KCLR a few days later.

Contributors include Phelim Kavanagh, Bev Carbery, Rozz Lewis, Simon Lewis, Pauric Brennan, Derek Coyle, Maressa Sheehan, Clifton Redmond, Jonathan O’Brien, Brigid Johnson, Betty Ryan O’Gorman.

Expect drama, storytelling, music and poetry from a beguiling and hugely talented group, the occasional stumbled line, and some performances of chaotic humour and engrossing pertinence.

This initiative is funded by Carlow Arts Office in partnership with Carlow County Library Service, KCLR and Carlow Arts Festival.

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Youth Writing classes at Carlow Youth Services

I’m starting my first classes with the Carlow Youth Services this week. I’m going to be working with a group of youths on a writing project and it excites me immensely!
I hope to be updating regularly about their progress and if you know any young adults that would be interested in writing, reading, performing and tea, send them my way!