Showcasing the best in contemporary Irish arts and literature ℘℘℘ he Irish Arts & Writers’ Festival brought together Irish writers and audiences in the historic and intimate town of Los Gatos, CA (an hour south of San Francisco), on October 12-14, 2018. Additional events in 2018 are scheduled for Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco. Founded and directed by Dubliner … [Read more...] about Los Gatos Irish Celebrate
Book Notes
Anna Burns Wins Man Booker Prize Novelist Anna Burns won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her third book, Milkman. Burns is the first writer from Northern Ireland to ever win the award, and the first woman since 2013 to do so. The experimental novel takes place in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, the armed conflict in the region in the late 20th century. It is narrated by an … [Read more...] about Book Notes
Review of Books
Recently-published books of Irish and Irish American interest. ℘℘℘ FICTION Normal People By: Sally Rooney There is something quietly knowing in the title of Sally Rooney’s second novel. Perhaps the reader is lulled into a false sense of security by the reassurance that these are characters just like us. And for the most part, they are. But anyone who read her first book – … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Sláinte!: New Wave Greens
The therapeutic benefits of seawater and seaweed baths, as well as seaweed as an important food source, is explored by Edythe Preet. I’ve got this thing about immersing myself in water. I like it body temperature or better. Thus, although Ireland has beaches aplenty, plunging into its frigid sea is out of the question, and I usually limit my adventuring to manor houses, … [Read more...] about Sláinte!: New Wave Greens
Murphy’s Saw: Surgery With Irish Flair
The extraordinarily gifted John Benjamin Murphy, who turned surgery into performance art. ℘℘℘ Like other influential doctors, John Benjamin Murphy saved and improved lives with his medical advancements. But he also managed to turn surgery into a performance art. As a maestro with surgical tools, he welcomed – indeed, thrived on – the added pressure of operating before … [Read more...] about Murphy’s Saw: Surgery With Irish Flair