On swanky hotels, Gráinne O’Malley’s tailor-made pirate outfits, and her own unusual hidden talent. Mary Beth Keane’s novel, Ask Again, Yes, is a lyrical, moving tale spanning 40 years about family, love, alcoholism, and mental illness. Told with tenderness and empathy for the human condition, it is juxtaposed with just the right amount of humor to carry the story along. … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Writer Mary Beth Keane
Issues
Window on the Past: The Triumph of a Sad Clown
The extraordinarily gifted Emmett Kelly, who turned clowning into an art form. Though he was most certainly a clown, Emmett Kelly’s performances were wistful rather than slapstick. Instead of wearing cheerfully bright clothes and having a prominent grin painted on his face, Kelly flouted clownish convention, wearing dark-colored rags and having a face forever contorted … [Read more...] about Window on the Past: The Triumph of a Sad Clown
Dan Ward’s Stack
From rural Donegal to Russia’s Hermitage Museum: the bizarre journey of an Irish landscape by an American artist. ℘℘℘ You would hardly expect to find idyllic scenes of the Donegal Gaeltacht in a Russian state museum, but the celebrated painting “Dan Ward’s Stack” and other gorgeous canvases of rural Donegal grace the walls of two of Russia’s world-renowned art museums. The … [Read more...] about Dan Ward’s Stack
Book Reviews
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die By James Mustich If you can get past what is clearly one of the more intimidating book titles you will ever come across, this volume is a wonder to dip in and out, in small or large doses. And not surprisingly, it is loaded with Irish titles – some classics, others unjustly forgotten. There is, of course, James Joyce (Dubliners, A Portrait … [Read more...] about Book Reviews
Our Story
When mental illness wreaks havoc on life and home. In September 1989, my beautiful, talented daughter entered NYU Film School as a promising young filmmaker. She amassed a stunning photography portfolio and produced two acclaimed short documentaries while still in high school, and every university she applied to offered her scholarships. In her freshman year, she produced … [Read more...] about Our Story