Things are being to look rather festive. I was invited to a Christmas themed reading and music evening miscellany in Cafe Formenti tonight.
We had some beautiful readings from Angela Keogh, John Mc Jenna and Siobhán Harte-local writers. Katie Jacques sang some groovy Christmas songs, she has a quirky and strong voice and made Christmas favourites her own.
Richie from Cafe Formenti served up highly addictive sweet potato and cinnamon fries, Turkey, cranberry & walnut bites with mince pies.
A really relaxing evening was had. Would love more of these in Carlow Town, we have plenty new and established voices so why not?
All in aid of St Vincent De Paul society. Thank you.
Writing.ie and Bord Gais released their shortlist for the best short story in the annual Bord Gais Book Awards 2013. I have read three of them. Bait by Colin Barrett, A different country by Danielle Mc Laughlin and How I beat the devil by Paul Murray. Though, i love Colin’s story, my vote goes to Danielle’s story. I really got into it, loved her sense of place and the fear she portrayed in the setting and animals througout. If you get the chance, cast your vote here!
Review:Young Skins by Colin Barrett published by The Stinging Fly
I got terribly excited when I received a package the other day. I just knew it was my copy of Young Skins by Colin Barrett and I just knew I would have to wait a while before I could read one of the stories. I had to have my dinner first. Sorry, food will out over short stories. Just about.
I had already read two of Colin’s short stories in the Stinging Fly magazine and in Town and Country edited by Kevin Barry and have found myself cursing Young Barrett for his words, stories and general brilliance. He is also a Mayo man so I am made up!
Young Skins is a collection of 7 wonderful short stories set somewhere in the “Whest”. You may have read The Clancy Kid, his most well known which I reviewed a while back. Young Skins opens with this story and I read it again for the third time, wanting to get a feel for the collection.
You may be aware that I am a huge fan of Kevin Barry and have said before that Colin’s writing sometimes shows a Barry-esque feel. After finishing this collection, I think that Colin writes about much of the same subject matter of Barry but Colin’s writing has a more hyped up sexual and contained anger in it that Barry’s more linguistically playful characters and themes have. They are entirely different beasts.
Colin Barrett’s writing always surprises me. I have met him a couple of occasions and one would find it hard to pin these stories to the freshly-washed and groomed Colin! What is going on his mind?
The men in his stories are sexually charged,wanting sex or violence to give them a lift. Whereas, Barry’s characters are a tamer kind, more polite and not really “getting it” kind of men.
Young Skins is very male and the men are pissed off. With everyone and everything. They have been accustomed to a certain ease but a life in a Post-Boom Ireland has left the young men with a gone-off sense of spoiltness that is true and well-observed here.
I read a story every few days, letting each one sink in. Indeed, they are worth further reads but that’s only after I finish the ever-replenishing mound of reading on my window ledge.
The Clancy Kid is the sort of story that could be sentimental in the wrong hands but not here. I loved the gentle loss shown in this story. The two strong men in thos story are tied together and both are really grieving.
Bait is the next story up. The title is most excellent when the story is completed. This story made me laugh and cringe at the Mayo men’s fascination and social madness that is “Playing Pool” Warning: do not let strange girls from the West into your car. Anytime. They like to play with glass bottles. A scary story which is up for the Bord Gais Best Short Story Award though it is an excellent story, it wouldn’t be my favourite in the collection.
My favourite is the one that every reviewer seems to also love. It’s Calm with Horses one. Almost not a short story with over 70 pages of greatness. It opens with an almost sexual assault and revenge of sorts is promised. This story, as did some of the others, had a real “Love/Hate” feel to it. The main characters, Arm and Dymphna(brilliantly chosen names) in the story have little to lose and little morals about the right things. Art has a son with autism, this is where see some elements of caring on his behalf but the child is not enough to change him. Colin deals with this subject brilliantly, I worked with children with severe autism for years and Colin either has direct experience or he has carried out immense research. Either way, he portrays this well. Children with autism have difficulties with empathy and can find it hard to establish relationships. Like the characters in this story, there is no human connection or caring about death and pain.
I was sickened when I finished Young Skins. My only complaint is that it was too short. More, please. So, it will come as no surprise that I completely endorse this collection and will force as many of my friends to purchase this.
I am sure there are many people predicting great things for Colin, like Kevin Barry, I am joining this campaign and think he will be heading into the area of screenwriting and film. Love/Hate may hire him or maybe, he will be moving onto the novel next. He gets Ireland in a fresh, fresh way.
You can purchase Young Skins by Colin Barrett at www.stingingfly.org here and you really should.
Michael Naghten Shanks [b. 1987] is a writer & editor from Dublin. His writing has featured or is forthcoming in various publications & anthologies, including Ink Sweat & Tears, The South Circular, Bare Fiction, wordlegs presents: 30 under 30, & New Planet Cabaret. He has been listed for various prizes & has read his work at numerous events. In November, he will read a selection of his work at the London Irish Centre as part of a Young Irish Writers Showcase. For more information, visit michaelnaghtenshanks.tumblr.com
michaelnaghtanshanks.tumblr.com
Michael, congratulations on becoming the new Editor of the Bohemyth! Tell us about your involvement with the magazine to date.
Thank you, Rozz. The title of ‘Editor of The Bohemyth’ is one that I think comes with a good reputation for selecting, editing, and promoting new writing. For that, all the praise should go to founding editor Alice Walsh. She founded The Bohemyth in October 2012 with a desire to help good writers reach a wider audience. When I found out what she was planning, I knew I wanted to be involved in some capacity. I came on as Assistant Editor and worked alongside Alice to pick out the best pieces that would also compliment each other in each individual issue. This ethic eventually led us to publish several special issues usually focusing on the lasting influence of individuals or groups. This was how I got my first taste for being the main editor – I was responsible for the Samuel Beckett issue – and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
How long have you been interested in writing and the literary world?
I think maybe I’m atypical in this respect. I wrote stories when I was younger, around the ages of 11-13, but I wasn’t a big reader. I was much more influenced by the films I was allowed to view and experience [many of which I only really fully appreciate now that I am older]. Although I studied English in Trinity College, it wasn’t until my final year that I began to think I might start writing creatively again. Within a few months of graduating, I had a short fiction piece published by wordlegs, and was participating in a writers’ group alongside some very fine writers. The relationships formed during this period have continued and seen me become more immersed in the burgeoning young Irish writers scene.
The Bohemyth is now accepting pieces of creative writing that is experimental. What do you mean by experimental?
Asking for experimental writing could seem complicated and off-putting for any potential submitter but, I think put simply, it is a question to writers – how quickly do you accept your own writing? I think it is the default of almost every writer to accept too easily whatever is the easiest way of writing for them, whether it be in form or subject matter or both. I’m not advocating that every writer abandon what works for them, but rather I am asking them to respect their own work, the reader, and the art of writing, at least enough to consider creating alternatives. Not every experiment will work, but the act of trying to make something new will only aid the writer and their writing.
What types of writing should not be sent to the Bohemyth?
I’m reluctant to dismiss outright any writing, because I think there are always exceptional pieces that transcend any title they may fall under, but I would suggest that authors of Young Adult fiction would perhaps be better guided in submitting to other journals. I would also be reluctant to accept traditional genre writing.
What gets your attention in terms of literary writing being submitted to the Bohemyth?
In keeping with the desire for experimental writing, I tend to favour pieces that are able to engage and affect me in new raw ways. I like it when I get the feeling that the writer is taking risks, that something is on the line. I like precision sentences that ping. Contemporary thought-provoking work that speaks to and from the heart, to and from the individual, to and from the collective.
What is your favourite literary magazine?
This could be an exhaustive list so I’ll try to limit myself to Irish-based journals – wordlegs, Bare Hands Poetry, The South Circular, The Penny Dreadful, The Stinging Fly, Southword, The Dublin Review.
What book are you reading at this very moment?
I’m just about to finish my first reading of ‘Alone with Other People’ by Gabby Bess, a young American author. It’s a collection of poetry and short prose pieces that is raw, open, and lacking in the gimmicks that often accompany some of the Alt Lit writers. If I was to recommend one book from this year though, it would be ‘Stop Sharpening Your Knives’, a poetry anthology full of varied, intelligent, and creative voices.
Give us your best tip in terms of an up and coming Irish writer, poet or fiction writer?
Well, I’m not so sure I can call her up-and-coming, because in my mind she is very much established as one of the new voices to listen to, but I would say Elizabeth Reapy. If you’re looking for someone to inspire you, she’s your woman. I also think people will be hearing the name Rob Doyle more and more.
Describe the vibe of the Bohemyth magazine in 3 words.
New Raw Communication.
Thanks, Michael so much for giving us your very insightful answers. Wishing you all the very best in writing and reading for the new year of the Bohemyth!
Rozz only has two eyes, which only gives her the ability to read one book at a time so when she was sent a load of books to review, she asked me whether I’d like to do one or two. I decided that one was the better option as I still have a big pile of books at my bedside, all of which are poetry books, and I dip into them every night in such a way that I will probably finish 8 at the same time one evening in the distant future.
One of the books in her collection was by a man who was familiar to me: Justin Quinn. We have a friend in our writing group who mourns when one of the poets amongst us writes a piece of prose. Justin Quinn appears to have left the poetry-flock. I really like Quinn’s poetry – I love the way he structures his poems and the inventive rhymes he comes up with – I was wondering what kind of novelist he would be.
Mount Merrion is a book about a family and it starts off in a hospital where we meet the main character, Declan Boyle, who comes from a fairly well-off family and through the various ways that Irish people tend to do well, that is, who you went to school with, who you happen to be related to and so on, Declan does indeed do well. He meets and marries Sinéad through the same means and they have two children, which wasn’t anything to do with school or politics.
The book is divided into chapters representing Ireland at different times from the 1940s through to 2003 when Ireland is stinking rich. The book deals with issues like health, schooling, business and alcoholism through the journey of the family. It’s a pleasant story and you get to know the family nicely along the way as it jumps from era to era.
For me, the whole book turns on a single paragraph, which would be unfair to share with you so if you do read the book, don’t skip or skim by anything or you’re likely to miss out. It’s a very shocking turn and gives the book an unexpected jolt.
As Justin Quinn is very familiar with the world of communism, there’s a smattering of that in the early part of the book and a bit of an over-indulgent chapter of post-communist Berlin in a later chapter, which I think was a little unnecessary. The book ends in a hospital, which wraps things up nicely. In fact, one of the great strengths of the book was how Quinn ends his chapters and thus, the last sentence of the book is perfect.
Is Justin Quinn a better poet than a novelist? I don’t think it’s for me to say. I enjoyed Mount Merrion very much and I think he grasped the way the upper echelons of Irish society live very well in all its aspects. I hope we haven’t seen the last of Justin Quinn, the novelist, but equally, I hope we haven’t seen the last of the poet either.
This review was written by Simon Lewis of www.anseo.net, www.mash.ie and www.simonlewis.ie fame. He also read Mount Merrion and really likes Justin Quinn’s poetry so he is the ideal reviewer for this novel.
After I had finished The Herbalist, big, long book that it is, I was dying to get stuck into a short story collection again! Alan Mc Monagle’s new short story collection Psychotic Episodes came to the rescue.
I had heard loads of great things about this collection and writer, first on the women write rule blog where Nuala interviewed Alan.
Alan loves the short story form so therefore he will always be dear to my heart.
This collection is varied in length, some of the stories are ultra short like Bloomsday Bus Driver or The mega-million lottery and some longer like Walking along ruins in Babylon
Incidentally, my favourite ones were the more longer ones like Walking along ruins in Babylon. This story unravels late in the night with a phone call intruding into a husband and wife’s bed and sleep. I loved the way this story unfolds itself and adds more and more information for the reader in abrupt stages. I was easily led into the narrator’s world and his wife, senile mother in law and distant son. It ends with a sudden realisation, like many of Alan’s stories seem to end, for the character and a move to some sort of shift in the main character’s world.
This collection is all about the odd things that happen in our world. How people can be disconnected from what is normal. How the strange events can show what a character has been through or where he is heading. Strange things happen in all the stories and it is the character’s reaction to them that show and enlighten their meaning.
For example, in the hilarious story of Thai Food. A young man meets his father who he hasn’t spoken to in years. The father suggests his favourite Thai restaurant and off they go. The lack of any relationship between the two is magnified in the father’s obsession with the restaurant, his strange behavior in the restaurant and the even stranger “psychotic episode” that goes on in the middle of their meal. The father is not aware of reality and in denial about his ex-wife and his own life to the point that he doesn’t seem to mind the strange events in the restaurant. The crazy scene in the Thai restaurant is set up to show what the father’s character is about. For he simply
glances…at the unfolding commotion, takes a long drink and chuckles to himself.
With a few lines, we understand the whole, overused “Show, don’t tell” maxim of millions of writer advice books!
But, Alan does tender as well as fast and wacky. In Beside Titan’s Sea, the story opens gently and directly.
When his parents were quarreling and he was afraid to be around them, Bernard went to his room…
Bernard is a young boy who is living with parents who hate each other. I had started to wait for the crazy episode to appear and when it does, it’s too late for the reader to realise that the boy is in fact part of the crazy episode. Has he been made this way or has he made his parents this way?
In another favourite on mine from this collection, the striking Bleeding Boy creates some amazing images, right at the end. A sort of Mrs Robinson story where young lads hanker after a bit of fine stuff in the form of Mrs Cassidy, a lady who lives on their street. The narrator is mourning from his mother’s death. A wonderfully poignant paragraph about a series of check lists and post it notes give us a way into the narrator’s character when he tells us about his Mum and what she had wanted to do.
Her big list was a list of places she wanted to see before she died…She wrote it all down..I kept her list…I thought that some day I’d get to…these places…then, I could cross them off.
After the ending, I wondered about this boy and if he ever gets to cross them off for his mum’s memory. However, the ending implies that the event that happens will remain in his memory for a long time, shaping who he is and when he became a grown up. He wants to be her bleeding boy.
Alan writes interesting and well layered endings. They seem to end abruptly and I needed to stop, go back and make sense of some of them but they all lead to the same type of conclusion that mad things happen to people and some people will realise this and some will not. An epiphany may or may not happen for the characters in Alan’s stories.
I can totally recommend this collection for anyone who enjoys short stories and humour and wit. I find it interesting that so many of these stories are all taken from various awards, competitions or journals that he has been published in. We have much to learn and enjoy in these psychotic stories. Thought, some are not as crazy as the title of the collection suggests. Or does that say something about the reader?!
Thanks to Arlen House and Alan for allowing me the time to read and absorb this collection.
Alan McMonagle is a poet, playwright and short fiction writer living in Galway, Ireland. He holds an MA in Writing from National University of Ireland, Galway.
He has contributed stories to many journals in Ireland and North America. Liar Liar, his first collection of stories published by Wordsonthestreet appeared in 2008 and was long-listed for the 2009 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. The title story from his second collection, Psychotic Episodes, (due from Arlen House in April 2013) was nominated for a 2011 Pushcart Prize
I am sad but chuffed that Elizabeth Reapy and Wordlegs are finishing up at Issue 20. Always better to finish on top. I admire Wordlegs and what they did. Elizabeth is no doubt going to move onto bigger things and the very best of luck to her.
Also, the Bohemyth literary magazine is now going to be managed by Michael Naghten-Shanks and moving to a new format. I am sure it will be as interesting and experimental as ever!
Colony Magazine is a new online literary magazine which is being edited by Dave Lordan and millions of other lovely writerly folk.
Can I trust you? I can be honest with you? Okay( deep breath) I was a bit afraid of reading The Herbalist by Niamh Boyce.
Phew, I’ve said it but carry on reading as this review starts a bit strangely but ends on a high! Whoopee! the kind of reviews we all love!
It’s all the hype around it. Niamh seems to be everywhere and on every TV channel, radio station and in all good book shops. So, forgive me if I got a bit worried when Penguin Ireland sent me on the book to review.
However, the book is rather excellent and extremely readable. Again, that is hard to say for me as books that come with hype and a controversial theme, like the one in The Herbalistare sometimes just no better than that controversy,
The Herbalist lives up to the hype. It is narrated from three very different female characters in the 1930s and it kicks off with the arrival of a tall, dark and handsome stranger who sets up stall in Athy. i see the town of Athy as Niamh hails from around there so I think she may have had some of the town of Athy in her mind when she wrote this.
It has a beautiful, touchy-feely cover and it intrigued many of my friends when I took it out!
The pace is really good, the characters well rounded and I empathised with all three and their issues. The drama keeps up right till the end and that is a very satisfying conclusion. It is a snuggle up type of book written with the brain in mind too! I didn’t want to like it because of my aversion or hyped up things( Harry Potter fans, I am aiming this at you!) and historical fiction. But, Niamh has done a fine and admirable job and I hope she writes more and more as I will be reading them.
The Herbalist is available from Penguin Ireland and/or good bookshops that may hype it up but it deserves it!
The five shortlisted stories for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 have been released. All five are women. All 5 are brilliant in their own way.
We have Lionel Shriver with “Prepositions”, a story that gives a very different take on the events of 9/11. Very cool, natural and quirky viewpoint. I really, really liked this.
Then we have “Barmouth” by Lisa Blower. This was a beautiful story written from the vantage point of a young girl going on holiday with her parents who are constantly fighting. The story opens up over years and the relationship between the mother and daughter is developed until the wonderfully touching ending. Well worth a listen. I think that this story particularly suits the audio mode as the lady who read this could be one of the characters and her voice didn’t grate on me!
The next one I have listened to is “Mrs Fox” by the lovely Sarah Hall. An odd and poetic tale of a husband and wife madly in love until she turns into something she shouldn’t be. The story just goes on a tad bit too long and I am a realist girl at heart so though I can admire Sarah and her writing and themes, my heart will go to a realistic story with human themes.
The next two I will listen to are by Lucy Wood and Lavinia Greenlaw. They are for my drives to work this morning. I love driving in the dark to work, being mesmerised by the beautifully narrators and a hot coffee in my new Bodum travel mug! It is a real treat, big up to the BBC!
You can download the first one in the next 7 days and the last one in 11 days but either way, do download them. Save them for a time when you might want to be magic-ed away! You can also download onto your kindle as well.
A bonus at the end of each story is a mini interview with the author about the rationale and themes to their story. I loved Lionel shriver’s curt responses, a very dry sense of humour.
Mariella Frostrup is chairing the judging panel for the Award, one of the most prestigious for a single short story. The winning author, announced at a ceremony on 8 October, receives £15,000, the runner-up £3,000 and three further shortlisted authors £500 each.
Often, I get sent books to review that I am so excited about. I get so excited I take photos of the cover and dream about when I can read it. Sometimes, I will have a cheeky first read of the first story or few pages and then put it away and then dream all over again.
With Siege 13, I felt a bit stressed. My friend, Terry is a real-life historian and when he picked it and started to flick through, wanting to read it and then commenting that he was surprised I was “into this kind of book”, I got worried. I enjoy history but fiction is better. I don’t really enjoy historical fiction and I like my covers to be fun and touchable.
Siege 13 is a short story collection all based or inspired around the Siege of Budapest, this was where the Soviet Union captured the Hungarian capital city of Budapest towards the end of World War 2. The siege began when Budapest, defended by Hungarian and German troops, was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army and the Romanian Army. It ended when the city surrendered on 13 February 1945. It was a decisive victory for the Allies in their push towards Berlin.
That is the history part over and in fact, there is no need to worry yourself about the above details for I was much relieved when I started reading the first story The Atlas of B. Gorbe. It’s the title that didn’t attract me and that is a shame as the story was immediately different and contemporary and I was hooked. I spent my whole time exclaiming to anyone that would listen( Read, Simon) that this book was brilliant and that I had been judging it by the cover and that it wasn’t boring like some historical fiction can be.
That is the beauty of this book. Each story is inspired, hugely or loosely connected to the Siege of Budapest, war, its horror, aftermath, life and death. It’s all there. The narrative style stays consistent throughout and Dobozy writes history as fiction. Each story sheds a spotlight on the human condition, the relationships we form and how war can shapes them for generations to come.
The stories are either written directly in Budapest during the Siege or in Toronto where an exiled community live, trying to get away from the past.
My favourite story was “Rosewood Queens,”a girl tells us about his father’s new girlfriend who is called “Aunt Rose”. She is a strong and fascinating character. She had a strange habit, she goes from shop to shop buying only the queens out of chess sets; a sort of regaining of herself, where she makes the chess set she leaves behind worth nothing. The narrator’s father loses out in the end because of his inability to communicate his feelings and let go of his past. The ending is perfect-
There was nothing, of course, and had never been, only two queens desperate for the affection of an absent king, trying to conjure him into existence and losing each other along the way.
What can be challenging for the reader is the disjointed nature of short story collections, Dodozy solves this by using the common theme or event of the Siege and the war. He shows how its effects could be subtle or more apparent with some stories barely hinting at it. He writes in an easy and unobstrusive style which is immediately accessible to the reader.
Siege 13 can be purchased at amazon here or at the publishers, Milkweed Editions here. You could grab it on kindle too but you already knew that.
