Irish Short Story Week-My Tentative Reading Plans

"Join me"-Rory

My Reading Plans for Irish Short Stories Week -3/14 to 3/20

"I will be here all week-please stop in if
you would like to me to show you around "
Carmila

 I am working on my reading plans and posting schedule for Irish Short Stories Week.    To try to make the event fun I hope some of the "guest hosts" I have invited will stop by.    Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu,  considered one of the premier 19th century writer of ghost stories, says his he will be bringing  Carmila to host Irish Gothic Day.   Carmila is the star of his famous novella about a lesbian vampire who makes the women on True Blood  look tame.     Carmila has complained about the lack of female authors.   I looked and looked but the authors are mostly male, though not all.    (Most of what I read will be things I can find online.)

March 14-The view from Mount Parnassus

March 13-The view from Mount Parnassus-In ancient Greek Mythology Mount Parnassus was the home of the muses.    It was also the eternal home of literary giants.    Today I will post on two (maybe 3) Irish writers of the highest canon status.   

1. James Joyce-"The Sisters"-the first story in the Dubliners.
2. Samuel Beckett -"The Assumption"-he wrote a number of very strange short stories
3. W. B. Yeats-still pondering this-he wrote a number of short works that are sort of like short stories but maybe they are in the category  parable or folk lore.   Thinking about this idea and am open to suggestions on this.

March 15-The Roots of the Irish Short story

1.   Oliver Goldsmith "The Disabled Soldier"  -Anglo-Irish -best known for the Vicar of Wakefield
2.  George Moore-many say he created the Irish short story- I am working on what to read-Virginia Woolf will stop by to share her thoughts on Moore with us, if we are lucky.
3. Maria Edgeworth, "The Purple Jar", one of the first writers of realistic children's literature -also wrote a number of short stories (1767 to 1849-Anglo Irish)-

March 16-Irish Gothic Day-

1. Bram Stoker-author of Dracula-also wrote lots of Gothic horror and ghost stories
2. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu-the premier 19th century writer of ghost and supernatural short stories

March 17-Elizabeth Bowen Day

Elizabeth Bowen -just a class act all the way!-I will post on her last four short stories-"The Demon Lover"  is a fun story but it far from her best work.   She may bring her good friend Eudora Welty as guest host for her day.    Maybe Evelyn Waugh will stop over or if we are really lucky Virginia Woolf or Katherine Mansfield.   

March 18-Three Wild Irish Lads or "Oh, are you Irish?"

1. Frank O'Conner-
2. Sean O'Faolain
3. Liam O'Flaherty

This leaves two days still open-as of now I plan  on March 19 to post on three contemporary Irish Short Stories, all from the archives of The New Yorker.

I have left out Oscar Wilde as there are others interested in posting on him (and I have posted on him a few times before).   He wrote a number of totally fun wonderful short stories.   

On the last day I will post on some yet to be determined author-

I will after the week is over do a master post linking up posts of anyone else who participates.   I will also sum  up if I can my reactions to  the week.   

To say again, I am just a general reader.   I claim no expertise in Irish Literature.   If you Google "Irish Short Stories" you  will find lots of reading ideas.

I hope others will join in-all you have to do is just post on one Irish Short Story that week and send me a link in a comment.    I am accepting of first generation immigrant authors or the children of Irish immigrants

Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or questions-especially if you know of stories by female authors (that can be read online)-

Thanks

Mel u