LooseLeaves: Number 15 Usher's Island ,in Dublin , the setting for Joyce's story The Dead, was the perfect location for the launch on Wednesday of a collection of 22 new short stories called These Are Our Lives, edited by Declan Meade, who hoped the launch of the book in this particular house by some talented, dedicated writers would be something that Joyce would appreciate.
"The man has had a lot of stuff thrown his way in recent times, but hopefully this is something he wouldn't mind so much."
Writing a good short story has nothing to do with writing a good novel - the short story isn't some sort of literary limbering up and we mustn't consider it so, said Meade. "It's an art form in its own right, complete in itself. When James Joyce was writing the story of the little Miss Morkans, and of Gabriel and Gretta Conroy, and the dinner party that took place in this house, he wasn't doing it as a literary exercise: he was creating what would stand out as one of the finest pieces of literature of the 20th century."
Three of the writers in the collection, published by the Stinging Fly Press - Jennifer Brady, Kevin Power and Maria Behan - read from their stories, and the house's owner, barrister Brendan Kilty, gave tours of "the most important dining room in literature". In the middle of all this a Latvian tourist rang Kilty's mobile hoping to see the famous Joycean house, only to be told to jump into a taxi and come straight down; there was a party on.
While there were 20 people living rough there when he bought the house in 2000 and two bucketfuls of syringes had to be removed, the whole back wall has since been rebuilt as well as the top floor, which had been demolished. Though everything of value was gone before Kilty took possession, he hopes some day to get the original fireplaces back. The house has a square piano - the gift of a woman who rang to say she wanted it to have a good home - just like the square piano that is central to The Dead - the top of which , when closed , also served as a sideboard for viands and sweets at the party in the story .See also www.stingingfly.org, www.jamesjoycehouse.com.
Betjeman's birthday bash
Fittingly, given the period John Betjeman lived in Dublin (1941-43) when he worked under Britain's high commissioner to Ireland, Sir John Maffey, plans are afoot to celebrate the centenary of his birth on August 28th. Poetry Ireland will hold a
celebration of commentaries and readings of his work by Derek Mahon, Anthony Cronin and others at 7pm in the Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen's Green West, Dublin . Among other things that happened to Betjeman while here was the birth of his daughter Candida, immortalised by Patrick Kavanagh in his poem of that name.
Candida is one to-day,
What is there for me to say?
On the day that she was one
There were apples in the sun
And the fields long wet with rain
Crumply in dry winds again.
Recalling Betjman's time here, the Poetry Ireland newsletter (July/August issue) says his job as press attaché involved influencing Irish public opinion in favour of Britain during the second World War, one stroke he pulled being to arrange for the filming of Laurence Olivier's Henry V in Wicklow. "It is believed that at the time of his Dublin sojourn, Betjeman was earmarked by the IRA as a target for assassination. Any attempt on his life was called off, however, possibly due to the IRA leadership's reluctance to believe that a poet could be involved in espionage and intelligence gathering." Keeping the Irish flag flying, the newsletter goes on to add: "Betjeman succeeded Ballintubbert's Cecil Day-Lewis as Poet Laureate in 1972."
Across the water, among the many events planned are the publication in August of AN Wilson's biography of Betjeman, published by Hutchinson, and a Cornish birthday party on the actual birth date in honour of the poet's affection for Cornwall. www.johnbetjeman.com
Not dead: poets society
Good news about the Out to Lunch poetry series, which will lose its habitat when the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre on Dublin's Foster Place closes on the 28th of this month. Organiser John McNamee tells us they will continue "undaunted". Their new environs will be the Irish Writers Centre on Parnell Square, with the first lunchtime reading there on Friday August 11th at 1.15pm with Paula Cunningham, followed by Philip McDonagh on August 25th. McNamee is among the poets who will read during autumn and winter - his outing is set for November 24th. . Admission is free, with readings taking place on alternate Fridays.