Nettles - the edible weed that is also known as the devil's leaf. Some foods don’t have a real come-hitherness about them. Who was the bold soul to first slurp a raw oyster? Artichokes have thorns and stickers growing on every surface. Rhubarb is notorious for its super sour pucker power, and, if carelessly ingested, its leaves are quite capable of killing a foolhardy … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Spring’s Precious Sting
Issues
New York Rock Band: Black 47
Irish America speaks to Larry Kirwan about the Irish Famine's Musical Legacy. Think of any major event in Irish history and a song or two will spring to mind that describes the emotions of a people. Except, that is, for the Great Famine, which left its sufferers at a loss for words to describe their anguish and devastation. With the exception of “Skibbereen,” the musical … [Read more...] about New York Rock Band: Black 47
Maid as Muse: Emily Dickinson’s Irish Connection
Aífe Murray tells Irish America the story of how an Irish maid influenced Emily Dickinson's poetry and saved it from destruction. Genius does not exist in a vacuum. This was the message taken away from Aífe Murray, author of Maid as Muse, when she spoke at Glucksman Ireland House on March 25th. The topic was Emily Dickinson, whose poetic prowess has been understood as the … [Read more...] about Maid as Muse: Emily Dickinson’s Irish Connection
The Good Samaritan
During the worst winter of the Famine, the American reformer Asenath Hatch Nicholson began her one-woman relief operation, organizing a soup kitchen, visiting homes of the poor and distributing bread in the street. In May 1844, Asenath Nicholson left New York aboard the Brooklyn to “personally investigate the condition of the Irish poor.” She had been a schoolteacher in … [Read more...] about The Good Samaritan
Hunger Memorials in America
Some crimes are so terrible, an affront to humanity, that they are impossible to capture in a memorial. But it could be said that memorials are for the living, not for the dead, a way to comfort the survivors, a way to redeem the suffering through beauty, and a reminder that we have to care for the hungry citizens in the world today. New York Thousands suffering in … [Read more...] about Hunger Memorials in America