In which we invite you to read and re-read the essays and criticism we published over the last year:
On Waitressing
‘Waitressing is a career of invention. An old manager of mine once convinced a table that a nail that had fallen into a guest’s grilled fish from a loose shelf in the kitchen was, in fact, just part of a fish hook, leftover from the fisherman’s own line that morning.’
—Dizz Tate
Notes On Resilience
‘It hurts to struggle, to reach for things that you might not yet be able to meet… When will I be enough? All I can do is keep writing, keep meeting my ideas and my words with an openness that I encourage in others and struggle to find in myself.’
—Olivia Fitzsimons
Notes on rejection
A series of short essays reflecting on the experience of rejection.
Contributors: Danielle McLaughlin, Jill Crawford, Neil Hegarty, Angelique Tran Van Sang, Anna Walsh, Mia Gallagher, with an introduction by Editor at Large, Thomas Morris.
Attempted Rescue: Notes on Writing
‘We are many selves, and often these selves have rival needs. Some kind of truce must be established, if the work is to get written.’
—Kevin Power
Criticism
Negative Space by Cristín Leach
‘Negative Space is a memoir of sorts, a record of a time of life and its catastrophes, but its main concern is contemporary art. Or, rather, the embodying of those spirits and effluents given off by art.’
—Niamh Campbell
Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère
‘His pain is made approachable, relatable, interesting—whatever else he may be, Carrère is always good company.’
—Ian Maleney
Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra
‘What to write about a new work that does not entirely excite or thrill, from one of the most exciting and thrilling writers of the last ten, twenty years?’
—John Patrick McHugh
Tresspasses by Louise Kennedy
Louise Kennedy’s mordant debut novel is visceral, powerful, and full of compassion.
—Mary Morrissy
The Trees by Percival Everett
In an oeuvre of funny and, at times, caustically angry books, The Trees might be Percival Everett’s funniest and angriest yet.
—Tadhg Hoey
Send Nudes by Saba Sams
Saba Sams’s vibrant collection explores the narratives we construct for ourselves—and the narratives others construct for us.
—Susannah Dickey
Butcher’s Dozen by Thomas Kinsella
Sean O’Reilly on the reissue of Thomas Kinsella’s ‘Butcher’s Dozen’ to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday: “a timely reminder that the past has to be fought for and poetry is not beyond lending a hand.”
Special bonus
In September, Nicole Flattery became host of The Stinging Fly podcast. You can listen to the three most recent episodes here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.