Having a receptive eye to one’s immediate surroundings, and then being able to translate this into words while treating the subject with keen sensitivity is a rare gift, but one which poet Mary Guckian possesses. Originally from Kiltoghert in Leitrim, Mary has travelled the world, lived variously in Australia and Britain,
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Supported by the Arts Council and DLR Libraries, Murder One, Ireland’s International Crime Writing Festival, returns to Dublin for its 7th year with a host of not to be missed events, talks, masterclasses and workshops taking place in Dun Laoghaire’s landmark DLR Lexicon Library & Cultural Centre.
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The notion of presence, synonymous with intimations of eternity is what first struck me when reading Rachael Stanley’s debut offering, Back to Infinity. Thematically expansive, juxtaposing the mundane with the surreal, the ephemeral with the eternal; at times reminiscent of a musical score with its repeated variations
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After the success of his first book The Republic of Reality, Irish Author Adam Rowan’s second outing The Crystalline Crucible has just been published. The Crystalline Crucible revolves around the main character, Maxwell Jacobs, a neurodivergent 21-year-old with a passion for knights, Tetris and cheese sandwiches,
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Many people will look fondly at the works of James Plunkett (born James Kelly) and especially his 1969 classic novel Strumpet City, a story set during the lock-out (between 1913 -14). It is on par with James Joyce’s Dubliners or Brendan Behan’s play The Quare Fellow as one of the greatest gifts this city offers
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In a world dominated by mobile phones and video games, encouraging young people to read and develop a love of books has probably never been more important. The reading habit needs to be instilled at a young age. In a new initiative to help boost child literacy, Enterprise Mobility and Children’s Books
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We are experiencing something of a renaissance of Irish female writers at the moment. New talent such as Catherine Prasifka, Emilie Pine, Evie Gaughan, and Louise Nealon (reviewed in last issue), are exploding on the scene. And now a new name – Ruth O’Leary – can be added to that star-studded list.
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I always know if I’m going to enjoy a book from the first few lines so when I started reading this in the Newsfour office, I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked. The story begins with four friends, Vivienne, Helen, Clara and Miriam who had all met five years previous at a Human Resource management course,
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This novel written by Patick Osborne is considered a ‘dark comedy’ in which we see a very diverse cast of characters trying to make a living. The story is set in Dublin and has characters everyone has encountered at least once in their lifetime. Forty-four year old Patrick Bridges has not had it easy.
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There have been many times in my life where I needed to make an important decision or I was worried or stressed about situations I was going through at the time, and at those times I would have a default mode and without even realising it, I would find myself standing in a book shop.
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