Creative Writing
Eileen Casey on the great Cork literary tradition and much else
The phrase, ‘out of the marvellous’ in Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Clonmacnoise’ which in turn titled a recently shown documentary about the poet (beautifully filmed by Charlie McCarthy for RTE 1) perfectly sums up this month’s mood. ‘Clonmacnoise’ is a life changing poem, telling a tale of monks at prayer, going about their familiar duties when a ship appears in the air, hooking itself to the altar rails. ‘A crewman shinned and grappled down the rope’, the monks say: This man can’t bear our life here and will drown /The Abbot said ‘unless we help him’. So they did/ The freed ship sailed, and the man climbed back/Out of the marvellous as he had known it. (extracted from ‘Clonmacnoise’ by Seamus Heaney). Events sometimes come into our lives and evoke change, turning a mirror around as it were, so that our own ‘marvellousness’ is somehow reflected back at us. The trick of course is to be able to recognise such events and give thanks for bearing witness. I always feel like that around the time of the Bealtaine Festival. Our imaginative lives are so fertile and receptive that even a small investment can yield such a huge return.
However, for a number of reasons which will soon become clear, I begin with Heaney, a poet who this year celebrates his 70th birthday. Heaney is a man respected not only by the world of letters (a Nobel Prize in 1995 among many other important accolades) but by most people who encounter him, either in person or through his wonderful poems. In 1988 a poetry anthology Poets Aloud Abu was published in Cork City from a publisher called Ink Sculptors and it first saw light at the Triskel Arts Centre, Toibin Street. At the time, it was published as part of a Poets Convention and the artistic, energetic engine that drove the convention and the publication was a woman called Patricia Scanlon (Bishopstown, Cork). The anthology reads like a who’s who of poetry. It includes high profile names such as Mary 0’Donnell, Leland Bardwell, Pat Boran (Dedalus Press), Marie Bradshaw (Bradshaw Books, Cork), Robert Greacen, Knute Skinner, Katie Donovan and lots more, together with new writers like myself, just beginning their writing journey. Also included however, is work by Seamus Heaney. Poems from The Haw Lantern and Door into the Dark , both collections published by Faber & Faber, add lustre to an already interesting book and in the light of history, a publication which now surely possesses ‘curiosity’ status. Some of the purchase price was donated to give Davoren Hanna (13 at the time, he died in 1994) more ease in his life. It’s a publication to look back on and savour, truly ‘out of the marvellous’ of so many generous poetic sensibilities.
Poets convention
The Poets Convention and the launch of Poets Aloud Abu was the occasion of my very first visit to Cork City. I was captivated by the beauty of A. W. Pugin and Sir John Benson inspired architecture (among other architectural feasts) and very impressed by the compact nature of a city where I felt safe, confident that I wouldn’t lose my way (I have a hopeless sense of direction). Speaking of architectural feasts, The English Market on Princes Street, Patrick Street and The Grand Parade is well worth a visit. Well known for its variety of foods from around the world (including local favourite Tripe & Drisheen!). The English Market dates back to 1788 and was redesigned by Sir John Benson in 1862. Unfortunately it suffered a fire in 1980 but was restored sympathetically by Cork City Council in 1980. An interesting feature of the market is the fountain built locally by W.R. Harris. It was originally the sole source of water for the traders.
Nicknamed ‘The Rebel County’ (dating back to the war of The Roses), Cork is very much a place of lilting voices, I reckon most of the inhabitants must have kissed the Blarney Stone at Cobh. 1988 also saw the publication of a book that sold by the ton and took the nation and the author herself by complete surprise! Alice Taylor’s To School Through the Fields (Brandon, May 1988) was (and continues to be) a runaway success. At the time, Books Ireland lauded the work and said “There is no writer more full of the milk of human kindness”. What a lovely affirmation and well earned. When I first read To School Through the Fields I was charmed by its world of butter boxes and mowing machines, characters such as Andy Connie and Tim Joe. Alice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon, Co. Cork and her new book is called The Parish (Brandon).
In the late 1980’s, a lovely Cork man (alas no longer with us) Cecil Hurwitz, founder of PEACE (Prayer, Enterprise and Christian Endeavour, Whitebeam Road, Togher) initiated a Poem for Peace Award which attracted a huge amount of interest from all over the country. During the ten years or so of the competition, some of my poems were designated poems for peace, and memories of those celebratory occasions in the Regency Hotel, Dublin, are indeed golden. Cecil Hurwitz was generous to a fault, a courteous, gentle individual. I often think of him with great respect. The adjudicator that first year of the competition was very generous also, making all the poets feel special. Waterford born Thomas McCarthy is a Cork treasure (he has lived in Cork City for many years and works at the City City Libraries) as well as being a poet, novelist and critic of national and international fame (Anvil Press is his publisher and he is a former editor of The Cork Review and Poetry Ireland Review). Another LLG ( Leeside Literary Giant) is novelist and short-story writer, William Trevor (born Mitchelstown, 1928). Trevor’s ‘Big House’ novels, revealing the tensions between Irish Protestant landowners and Catholic tenants are classics, written by an acknowledged Master. My own particular favourites however are the short stories, particularly The Ballroom of Romance and Other Stories (Bodley Head, 1972). A common theme in Trevor is his characters’ acceptance or rejection of the abandonment of their hopes. Another is the small victories they win. His work is an absolute joy to read, life-changing. Given all the cultural wealth Cork can lay claim to, it came as no surprise when the city was nominated 2005 European Capital of Culture, and continues to culturally thrive. The Cork School of Music, opened in 2007 has a 500 seat auditorium and houses the largest single collection of Steinway pianos in the world. What a wonderful image, so much music waiting to burst forth from under so many piano lids!
Bealtaine fires alight
As Bealtaine fires are still very much alight, it’s appropriate to congratulate Age & Opportunity whose programme this year continues to ensure that creativity in older age burns bright. I had the pleasure of attending the Bealtaine launch at the National Library and was very impressed by the general air of enthusiasm rippling around the room. The call to creative arms was well and truly answered. This year’s theme ‘Go and open the door’ (inspired by Miroslav Holub’s poem ‘The Door’, Go and open the door./Maybe outside there’s/a tree, or a wood/, a garden,/ or a magic city) again reminds me of of Heaney’s ‘out of the marvellous’, the recognition that our inner lives can often provide the brightest lens through which to view the world. The Bealtaine Ambassadors are admired and respected artists from the world of arts and culture (Robert Ballagh, Joanna Banks, Eugene McCabe, Paddy Maloney, Eamonn Morrissey, Veronica Dunne, Jennifer Johnston, Mick Lally, Tomas MacAnna, Geraldine Plunkett, John Quinn). Robert Ballagh spoke about how a society can be measured by how well it treats its elderly and its young population. He mentioned Japan as a case in point, where the elderly are considered national treasures. He made the point that Ireland is not quite at that stage yet but nevertheless there is growing recognition that our elderly population have a right to a ‘voice’ and have lots of worthwhile contributions to make. There are two new Bealtaine Ambassadors welcomed this year, Travel Writer Dervla Murphy and Paddy Cole, who won fame as a saxophone player with the Capitol in the 1960’s and later the Big 8 in Las Vegas. The Bealtaine brochure and programme 2009 is a veritable feast (the programme can be accessed online also on www.bealtaine.com. It contains a lovely interview with Mamo McDonald (Honorary President Age & Opportunity). Referring to this year’s theme of ‘go and open the door’, Mamo says “I know that if you can get people to come for the first time, they will return again and again”. She tells how the fires of Bealtaine have been burning since 1996 yet “ it has changed so often in that time: Change is important. Often if people can take hold of things themselves, instead of having the same thing year after year, it can develop and become an event that belongs to the community”- (Mamo McDonald in conversation with Seamus Cashman, Bealtaine Brochure & Programme, 2009).
Looking through this year’s programme I’m very struck by the range of what’s on offer, everything from theatre, music, art, writing, film, dancing and lots more besides – on a local and national basis. Creative blossoms light up the landscape all over the place, providing a lush feast for the senses. Among the many, many gorgeous events on offer are ‘Swans’ at the Abbey Theatre, a theatrical exploration of story gathered from participants and which might become a full dramatic work for Bealtaine 2010 (watch this space!). As the programme explains ‘Black Swan’ is a metaphor for something that did exist: it is ‘an impossibility’ come to pass. So many of us have ‘Black Swan’ moments in our lives, where something we thought impossible or something that would never happen to us, comes to pass.
Cork can be very proud of its creative contribution to the festival. There’s a proliferation of celebration here, both from around the city itself and its environs - Bantry, Skibbereen, Ballyphehane, Clonakilty, Glanmire, Midleton, Fermoy to name but a few – all wonderful. I can’t help being fascinated by an installation called ‘Talking Lips Carnival’ (West Cork Arts Centre, North St. Skibbereen). This is an interactive Game Performance by Melissa Baker. According to the artist’s statement, the project sets out “to explore communication; its development and its changing context in rural life’. Melissa will encourage ‘discussion, stories and oral history with the participants. The integration of technology and how it has changed behaviours in society will be explored; letters, text, postcards, email. Exchange and communication will be explored between groups from each geographical centre.” More information can be obtained from Justine Foster 02822090. ). As Senior Times Over-50’s Show travels Leeside, I’m delighted to pay tribute to the vibrant cultural life in this part of the country. Long may it continue to prosper.
