The 'Ulster Tatler'is set to revive its once popular Literary Miscellany section, and give a vital outlet to authors and poets of all hues and experience, writes Jane Coyle.
Thirty years ago, Richard and Noreen Sherry, the proprietors of the Ulster Tatler, invited the Northern novelist and playwright Sam Hanna Bell to edit a literary section for their magazine. The Literary Miscellany became something of an institution-within-an-institution, publishing the early work of emerging writers such as Michael Longley, Medbh McGuckian, Paul Muldoon, Edna Longley and Patrick McCabe.
In June 1978, Elgy Gillespie, writing in this newspaper, judged it to have the potential to be "as much of a fairy godmother as New Irish Writing [in the Irish Press] is in the South. To date, it has shown itself to be of a very high standard and although you can't buy it down here, southern poets like John F Deane and Padraig Daly have been welcomed. It also pays well (£5 for a poem)."
But in the mid-1980s, the Literary Miscellany vanished from the Tatler's pages, submerged beneath an ever-growing deluge of photographs of blushing brides, society bashes and features about fashion, cars, property and exotic holidays.
Now, after an absence of more than 20 years, it returns, under the guardianship of Belfast writer Glenn Patterson, whose latest novel The Third Partyis due out in the autumn.
"The idea for a new-look Literary Miscellany emerged during our 40th anniversary exhibition at the Linen Hall Library," says editor Chris Sherry, son of the founder. "Going back through old copies, we were amazed at the quality and range of the work we published.
"I am delighted that Glenn Patterson has agreed to be its new editor. Not only is he a terrific writer, but because he is involved in so many different areas, through his work in the media and at Queen's University, he has the clout to reel in a wide cross-section of writers."
Sherry is proud to be the inheritor of the award-winning magazine's title and tradition. His grandfather first set up a small publishing house, specialising in programmes for local football matches and performances at the opera house. It was on a visit to Dublin in 1966 that his father Richard spotted an opportunity to take the business up a notch.
"My mother was leafing through a society magazine in the hotel and spent ages scouring the faces of the people in it - even though she didn't know them," Sherry relates. "My dad thought how much more entertaining it would be for her if there were people in it whom she did know and that it might be a good idea to start something like it in the North."
From the start, the Ulster Tatler'sformula of glossy photographs and social chit-chat was, consciously, far removed from the politics and divisions of the day. Still, it did not take long for it to find a market of regular readers. Over the years it has had no difficulty in shrugging off charges of existing in a cosy ivory tower and concentrating on the activities of the rich at play.
"The Ulster Tatleris what it is - a social magazine," says Sherry. "We have no aspirations to be a newspaper of reference. But it is by no means only about the rich and famous. We cover all kinds of local functions right across the North, as well as glossy openings and gala evenings. We now have almost 280,000 readers and are the largest monthly magazine in the North. So we must be doing something right."
SHERRY IS CONFIDENTthat the Literary Miscellany has the potential to attract a new tranche of readers. The first issue leads with a specially commissioned poem by Medbh McGuckian, a new short story by Lucy Caldwell - whose play Leaveswas recently premiered by Druid - two new poems by Leontia Flynn, and a themed reading list by Ian Sansom, founder and editor of Enthusiastmagazine.
"The fact that the first issue is all about new work really puts it up to writers," says Patterson. "It was not necessarily the way I intended it to be, but now that the bar has been set so high, if new work comes in, so much the better."
There is a strong element of nostalgia behind his decision to take on the role of editor. "When I was looking back at the old issues and their contributors, I was struck by the fact that it really does have some pedigree. It took me back to the days when I was leaving school and getting interested in writing. When Chris asked me to do it, my initial reaction was that, like everyone else, you always have too much work in your life. But then I thought that it would be great to bring it back and nice to be a part of it. If it acquires anything like the reputation of its predecessor, I'll be happy."
He is pushing the door open not only to poetry and short stories, but to essays, reflections, reviews, plays-in-progress - as well as to writers venturing outside their traditional genres. And so far, the response has been heartening.
"Every single person I have spoken to has said yes," says Patterson, who has just returned from the Northern Ireland arts showcase in Washington DC. "I met Dermot Healy in Washington and he has promised something for a future issue. Dermot Bolger has also agreed. In the next issue I am hoping for a poem by Jane Weir, who lived in the North for some time and has written extensively about it. She now lives in Derbyshire and her second collection, Playing Romeo, is due out soon. It will be a broad church.
"I anticipate a lot of work will come in, because there are very few places around where people can get published," says Patterson. "We'll be working with the Linen Hall Library and the Creative Writers' Workshop and I have high hopes for good things, well done. And we will be paying our contributors more than a fiver."
