Irish Short Story Month The First Month Extended Until at least April 14 Some general blather on various topics

March 1 to April 14

Links to Q & A Sessions for ISSM3

Irish writers of all sorts, please contact me if you would like to be featured on The Reading Life.  

This year I have begun to do Q and A sessions with writers.  I now have 47 either online or in house waiting to be posted.  About 20 more are in various stages of development.  I am now seeking contacts beyond just short story writers to poets, novelists, playwrights, editors, publishers, and book store owners.

Every Q and A is written for the person doing completing it.

  In the case of poets, if possible I would like to publish one of your poems to accompany your Q and A.  I am willing to share my readership stats with interested parties so you can see the potential readership for your Q and A.  If you have any questions or concerns, just ask.

The less ISSM3 is just me blathering on, the better it will be.

"Free shoe repair for'
all who join us"-Rory

I offer my great thanks for those who have participated in ISSM3, for sure including my fellow book bloggers whose work I will spotlight in another post.  I humbly thank those who entrusted me with the honor of publishing their short stories.  A great shout of thanks on this goes to Mr. Eddie Stack!   I know some of my Q and A questions border on being rude-I ask the questions because I respect those I am speaking with-I know questions about the weakness of the Irish father (claimed by Declan Kiberd,  to be the dominant theme of Irish literature), stage Irishman, drinking in Irish culture,   and  the questions derived from the observations of Yeats have not been to the liking of everyone. 

I am a total outsider to Irish culture.  I live on the other side of the world.  Of course in many ways it puts me at a disadvantage but it also gives me an outsiders perspective.  I  do not have any preformed notions.  I do not think one university is better than another, one religion better, north of south better, Dublin, Cork, or Galway a better city for writers.  I have no alliances with any literary group.  I have no private agenda.  

  

"Do a Q and A so we can have
some private time"
Carmilla

  On the other side, I lack the common experiences of those in the Irish writing community.  Not long ago I saw on Facebook many people talking about Arthur day and I did not at the time even know that was the celebration of the birthday of Arthur Guinness.   I did not know that if you wish to offer to take someone somewhere in your car it is not proper to ask them if you can give them a ride.  I do not know what literary works are read in the Irish universities.  

During ISSM2 in 2012 I did a feature on what I referred to as Emerging Irish Women Writers.  I have been following as much as I can the career of these writers since then and most seem well on their way to significant careers as writers.  I like to imagine that someone will do an Irish Short Story Month twenty years from now (somehow I doubt it will be me) and my guess is some of the writers I have featured at the start of their careers will be included in IMMS23.

Based on my readings, the future of the Irish short story as a world dominating class of literature is secure.  People who talk for whatever reason about the death of the short story have just not done their reading or they are just seeking attention.