Miscarriage essay

My article/essay, first published in the current Ogham Stone Literary Magazine, is up at the Irish Times website here.

PREGNANCY LOSS & STORIES

Pregnancy loss has plagued my life for 16 years. I have written about it a little in my novel The Closet of Savage Mementos and a lot in poetry collections, most especially in my last one The Juno Charm. And I have a story called 'Storks' forthcoming in The Irish Times that is about the aftermath of miscarriage.

But today I have a short-short story (flash) in a brand new UK-based magazine for women writers called Halo. Halo is a gorgeous and welcome outlet for women and the art work for this issue is fabulous. There will be a limited number of print issues soon - keep any eye on the Halo Twitter account for more on that.

My tiny miscarriage story, 'Tilt', is on page 36. Go here.

THE GLOSS & MISS EMILY

I love The Gloss, the very shiny, posh magazine that these days comes free with The Irish Times once a month. It's one of those aspirational magazines that features drool-worthy designer clothes and outrageously priced furniture and handbags (and the odd affordable item).

But they love books too. People like Antonia Hart, Mary O'Donnell and Polly Devlin are regular contributors and the magazine often has features on women's writing.

I have a feature in this month's edition about novel writing in general and Miss Emily, and the next novel, in particular. See pic below. Click and zoom :)

IRISH TIMES SHORT STORY ARTICLE

Sarah Gilmartin has an article online in today's Irish Times called The Rise of the Short Story - she interviewed me for the piece along with Eilís Ní Dhuibhne, Mary Costello, Declan Meade, Henrietta McKervey, Brendan Barrington and others. It's here.

PANEL, NEW S/S COMP & MY IRISH TIMES HOMAGE TO MS ENRIGHT

Anne Enright - Photograph: Patrick Bolger for the Observer Patrick Bolger/Observer

I'm going to squash a few things in here. I am distractedly busy with novel #4, so I have little time to blog.

ONE: I am at Ennis Book Club Festival this Saturday at 3pm, on a panel with Sara Baume and Colin Barrett, moderated by Evelyn O'Rourke. More here.

TWO: Books Ireland Magazine has a new short story competition. 30th June closing date. €400 first prize plus a writing retreat. All details here.

THREE: In today's Irish Times, I have my tribute/homage to Anne Enright as part of their series focussing in on Irish women writers. It's an International Women's Day effort to redress that poster (the male writers one). It will culminate in a new poster in this Saturday's print edition. Whoop!

FOUR Nearly forgot, I'll be on Athlone Community Radio this evening, around 6.30pm, talking about writing and stuff.

PODCAST OF I.T. BOOK CLUB CHAT ABOUT *THE CLOSET OF SAVAGE MEMENTOS*

I joined presenter Gary Quinn and two IT Book Club members, Phillip Watt and Emer Sugrue, to discuss The Closet of Savage Mementos in December. The podcast is online now.

On the podcast, I keep doing this up inflection thing with word ends. Most annoying to listen to but it may have been the nerves :)

Chapter One of Closet in the IT

The Irish Times features Chapter One of The Closet of Savage Mementos today as part of its book club activities. Here.

PODCASTING WITH THE IRISH TIMES

I'm off to the Irish Times office in Dublin today to record a podcast for the book club about The Closet of Savage Mementos. The idea is that two new-to-the-book readers join me, and Features Digital Editor Gary Quinn, and we discuss the novel, book club style. It will be broadcast on the 13th of January, all going well. I have listened to John Boyne's fluent podcast on Soundcloud about his IT book club novel, A History of Loneliness.  I am hoping I can sound as relaxed and together as he does - wish me luck!

IRISH TIMES BOOKCLUB INTERVIEW

I'm interviewed by the Irish Times today, for their book club, about writing and stuff. This book, the next one, the one after that...It's here.

THE IRISH TIMES REVIEWS *CLOSET*

Sarah Gilmartin has a review of The Closet of Savage Mementos in The Irish Times today. And it's a goody. A snippet: 'Earlier work has drawn comparisons to Edna O’Brien. With her ability to get inside a story, and a writing style that is both lyrical and exact, it is easy to see why.' Swoon. Big thanks to Sarah. Read it online here.

I am reading from the novel at the Galway Fringe Festival today: 2pm, The Bridge Mills. Adm.: €5. All welcome!

IRISH TIMES PIECE ABOUT *CLOSET*

I have a piece called 'What the Highlands Gave Me' in today's Irish Times Culture section about the genesis of my new novel The Closet of Savage Mementos. The picture with it, of me and the kiddos, is by Joe O'Shaughnessy.

IT ARTICLE ABOUT FORM

Sinéad Gleeson's new Irish Times series on writing has its second outing today. I am there, along with Ron Rash and Deborah Levy (swoon!) talking about form and why writers should try everything to see what fits. Here.

THE GLOSS - XMAS READS

In The Gloss today (free with the Irish Times), several writers (including me) recommend books for Christmas, in an article called 'Great Reads for Good Friends', compiled by Antonia Hart. I'm in fine company: Emma Donoghue, Nell Regan, Colum Mc Cann, Molly McCloskey, Aifric Campbell, William Ryan, Justin Quinn and more.

I recommend Anakana's Schofield's Malarky, Edith Pearlman's Binocular Vision, Steven Heighton's Workbook and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.

FLASH ARTICLE IN THE IRISH TIMES

I have a short article on flash fiction - the Word for Word column - in this weekend's Irish Times. Here!

STORY IN IRISH TIMES

My story 'Squidinky' from the Silver Threads of Hope anthology for Console is in today's Irish Times. You can read it online here.

FLASH FICTION in the IRISH TIMES

My flash story 'The Doora Spinster' appears in The Irish Times today in an article about flash fiction by Declan Burke.

Alison Wells, myself, John McFetridge and Rob Kitchin give our thoughts on flash. They are calling for flash stories up to 500 words and will publish the best ones.

Read the lot here.

MCGAHERN YEARBOOK 2011 REVIEW - Irish Times

Liam Harte reviews the McGahern Yearbook 2011 in today's Irish Times here. I have an essay in the book on the novel Amongst Women.

Harte quotes a line from my essay which says: 'Moran is not altogether unpleasant'. In the essay this sentence is preceded by five paragraphs explaining his deep unpleasantness, in case anyone should think that I am a fan of the bullying Moran. Here are the six paragraphs in question, just to balance things out a little:

"This book is about a man who, to my mind, never matured. Like a toddler, Moran wants to be the centre of attention, but only in the small kingdom of his immediate family. He is an awkward man; he delights in being contrary and difficult. Outsider are treated with suspicion and disdain.

One can only conclude that Moran is based on John McGahern’s own father, such are the similarities between the two men. In Memoir, McGahern refers to his father as a ‘violent and wilful’ person, devoid of a sense of humour, who ‘looked on any manifestation of enjoyment in others as a symptom of irresponsibility’ crucially because it diverted attention away from him: the king of the castle.

Moran is not a man for fun – levity is allowed into the house on his terms only. His daughters hide giddiness from him – they conceal their true personalities – especially when younger. And, early on, his new wife Rose, though she hardly knows Moran, instinctively does the same.

Money, and the supposed lack of it, is a constant source of concern for Moran. On a summer holiday in Strandhill, he sends his children door-to-door selling turf. He and Rose have a modest wedding at her family home because he does not want to squander money at the local hotel. Later, with the cost of his daughter’s wedding fresh in his mind, he attacks son-in-law Seán for not being ‘mature’ in his attitude to the importance of his pensionable civil service job.

We are to believe from the narrative that Moran’s personality stems from his disappointment after the way things panned out in the country after he had fought for independence. Surely, though, his depressed nature worsened after the death of his first wife, and his tendency towards lording it over people is long ingrained.

Moran is not altogether unpleasant, it must be said. He certainly has some welcome highs when he feels secure amongst his women. If he were analysed today he might be diagnosed as manic depressive: after the highs come the lows."

NUDE IN REVIEW #2

The Irish Times have reviewed Nude today and it is a brilliant review. Yay! Thank you Katie Donovan! Read it here.