With the exciting news of the "bed in a shed" scam—sorry, scheme—the ILT is moving its offices to the pigsty out back. Our old office is now a "luxury apartment" (5-star: look through the hole in the roof and you'll see five stars). Luckily, the pig has agreed to stay on as Editor-in-Chief.
"The whole world is in a terrible state o' chassis" - Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock
A sunny Sunday afternoon in Sligo
Massive Attack and Tom Waits.
Waits’ first new recording since ‘Bad As Me’ in 2011 (although he apparently submitted his vocal some years ago) and Massive Attacks first new music in over a decade -"a stark, pulls-no-punches protest song" about the state of America.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-57...
Anne Enright was the best author I discovered in 2025. She’s fantastic.
Well that was a great start to the Contemporary Irish Short Story course at the Irish Writers Centre @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social
Brought out the big guns to kick things off: Anne Enright and Colm Tóibín — and they went down a treat.
"My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That’s heaven. That’s gold and anything else is just a waste of time.”
— Cormac McCarthy
Yes!
Moving onto Eileen Chang (author of Lust, Caution), Love in a Fallen City.
About 8 pages left in Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. While I have enjoyed it, I won't lie to you it's been a slog at times - nothing to do with the quality of the writing, more the style.
It’s gotten very serious out there—so let’s try and lighten the mood #funniestirishbooks:
I was eleven when I got my hands on the 40 Greatest Hits but had my innocence shattered the following year when I sent off for, and eventually received, The Sun Collection. From the opening notes of "That's All Right, Mama", I kinda knew nothing was ever going really going to be the same again.
I was eleven when I got my hands on the 40 Greatest Hits but had my innocence shattered the following year when I sent off for, and eventually received, The Sun Collection. From the opening notes of "That's All Right, Mama", I kinda knew nothing was ever going really going to be the same again.
A sombre Easter poem:
The Song of the Dead Christ - inspired by Holbein's controversial painting, The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, which depicted Christ suffering the fate of an ordinary human as his body decomposed after death.
youtu.be/U24vXubEvKs?...
A sombre Easter poem:
The Song of the Dead Christ - inspired by Holbein's controversial painting, The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, which depicted Christ suffering the fate of an ordinary human as his body decomposed after death.
youtu.be/U24vXubEvKs?...
“Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system.”
― Flannery O'Connor
Finally got around to seeing it (thanks TnaG)
Hmmm. Classy.
I notice that a photo of the ILT founder has resurfaced on the internet over the past few days, taken many years ago after he went out to get the messages and never came back.
Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day.
Hmmm. Classy.
“My life was the best omelette you could make with a chainsaw”
― Thomas McGuane, Panama
Nighttime in Sligo
It's so cold I have to drink my coffee and read with gloves on, but I will not be cowed.
Just when you thought literary feuds had gone out of fashion.
Angel by Elizabeth Taylor is quite wacky.
“Assuming you can write clear English sentences, give up all worry about communication. If you want to communicate, use the telephone.”
― Richard Hugo, The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing