Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls, talks about his new novel, Ghost Light, the Irish diaspora, and why he doesn’t write historical fiction. The Aran Islands appeared recently on the cover of the New York Times magazine – green, quaintly barren, and lined with stone walls. The accompanying feature was by an Irish-American writer, John Jeremiah … [Read more...] about The Power of the Past: Joseph O’Connor
Interviews
The Chieftains At 50
The Chieftains, Ireland’s top traditional group, celebrate their 50th anniversary with a compilation album featuring many young recording artists. In traditional Irish music, the road to success is often a long way from home. Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains have traveled that road for half a century, and it has taken them everywhere – from the world’s great concert halls to … [Read more...] about The Chieftains At 50
The New Irish Songwriter: James Vincent McMorrow
A spring tour in Australia on the immediate horizon, thoughts brewing of a sophomore album and the world at his feet, James Vincent McMorrow has stormed onto the scene from virtual nothingness in the last year. It was January of last year that the Dublin native’s debut album, Early In the Morning, found its way to my desk for review, and I was completely stunned. In many ways, … [Read more...] about The New Irish Songwriter: James Vincent McMorrow
Barney Rosset:
1922-2012
He helped change the course of publishing in the United States by championing avant-garde writers and beat poets. He defied censors in the 1960s by publishing D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. He brought European writers such as Jean Genet and Samuel Beckett under his Grove Press imprint. He passed away on February 21 at the age of 89. … [Read more...] about Barney Rosset:
1922-2012
Martin Hayes: Rhythm and Strings
Whether playing solo or with the newly formed The Gloaming, Martin Hayes, the marvelously gifted fiddler, finds his mesmeric rhythm in the Irish tunes he learned from his father – the leader of the famed Tulla Ceili band – and other master musicians in east County Clare. The first time I heard Martin Hayes it felt like an earthquake. Not ten seconds into his first tune, the … [Read more...] about Martin Hayes: Rhythm and Strings