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>Kilcar Fleadh/Ceardlanna Ceoil Agus Damhsa Music and Dance
•August 12, 2009 • 1 Comment>This is a week of traditional Irish music and dance in Kilcar. Our lovely home here is walking distance from town. Last night there was a band and dancing in the street! After that ended around 11 pm, the band and other musicians moved to the pubs and had a jam session that lasted until the wee hours. As they say here, it was brilliant! There were numerous multi-talented musicians playing fiddle, accordian, guitar and other instruments. I lasted until about 12:30. Kira has joined us and has her friend Jenny visiting (she is working on a farm in Bantry which is quite far from here in the southern part of Ireland, Country Cork.) I worked on editing my collection in the morning and spent the afternoon and evening taking in the beautiful environment here. It is a friendly town–and the small library allows us to take out books which makes us all very happy.
>The Learning Curve
•August 11, 2009 • Leave a Comment>A man in Golden Indian Restaurant in Kilcar told me that every place has a Bundoran. Having booked a place in Bundoren, County Donegal only to find the promised ocean view obliterated by the “Crazy Mouse” roller coaster, I thought back to my own “Bundorans”. In the coastal town of New London, Connecticut, Ocean Beach Park is such a place. Beyond the boardwalk, there are frozen custard stands, arcades, and rides. But my wise Irish friend also told me that there are two Bundorans. Walking beyond the golf course, I found the fairy bridges and the path to Tullen Strand, a beach with sea caves and blue-green waves. There were surfers in multi-colored wetsuits because it never really gets too warm here. From the cheesy chip shops and arcades, there are hidden vistas and rugged cliff walks. It wasn’t enough to keep me there a week, however. I have moved on to Kilcar–a sleepy little town with a music festival happening this week. My host has given us two places–one for Kira and her visiting friend Jenny (who took way too many buses all the way from a farm in County Cork) and one for us. Both have turf fires and a lovely view. It is walking distance to this town which has one of the best Indian restaurants ever. It is also close to beautiful cliff walks and historical sites. More on that later. I will post pictures when it is possible. Internet access is dear in this town. I should have plenty of time to write. I had a wonderful day on Saturday with poet Ted Deppe and his wife, the poet Annie Deppe. His help with my collection was invaluable. We also shared both lunch and dinner in their lovely new home. I feel lucky indeed to have had time to go over my work with a poet I so admire. I also made a connection with my hosts in Connemara. Their children attend a small Irish speaking school and two of them are the same age as the children in my project for second graders. I hope to find a few students willing to have some Irish pen pals. I was sad to leave the stone cottage in Carna. Barbara and Josie were grand hosts and the environment was wild and unspoiled. I hope my time in Kilcar will be similar.
>The Wind
•August 6, 2009 • Leave a Comment>We fall asleep to the wind and we wake to the wind. Clothes can dry on the line in an hour if it isn’t raining. Things I’ve noticed: there are no planes overhead–ever. There are no insect noises like katydid and cricket. The landscape is redolent with orange, magenta, violet, and yellow. Sheep are more abundant than people here. They graze on the side of roadways, in yards, on rocky overlooks. It is challenging to drive the narrow roads. Today I took a coastal walk by Dog Bay in Roundstone. I will post those photos when I can–it was spectacular. It was one of the best days weather-wise. It tends to be very cold and rainy most days–and even today, there was a drenching shower for a short time.
>New Connections
•August 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment>
I had a wonderful reading at the home of Geraldine Mills and Peter Moore last night. Many writers attended and I had the opportunity to hear the work of others and to read. It was so grand to meet artists from Ireland–and to share good food and wine. This fellowship has afforded me so much–a chance to have undisturbed time for writing, meet new writers, and grow as a writer. I hope to continue to be productive in creating new work in this amazing landscape.
>Week of Writing
•August 1, 2009 • Leave a Comment>We have finished our intensive week of writing, creating much poetry for our collaborative collection. It has been both fruitful and wonderful working with a poet from another country. We have found many commonalities and I have learned more about the culture of this beautiful country. I’ve also learned about Irish plants, animals, and traditions. We walked on the beach daily, drank many cups of tea and hot water with lemon, ate simple meals, and shared art and thoughts. I am sad that this week is over but I look forward to more writing on my own in the coming weeks.
>Carna and Surrounding Areas
•July 30, 2009 • 1 Comment>
The wild and unspoiled beauty of this place is unparalled. This morning we walked over stone walls to another beach. There were cows grazing nearby and lots of rabbits and gulls including one we’ve named “the gull of a different color” because he is dark with a dark beak. It is cool every day and we have a turf fire in the fireplace each night. We’ve been cooking our meals–simple fare like rice and vegetables. We have a supply of local goat cheese and our host just brought over homemade brown bread this morning. I have been productive writing-wise today. We are working on sonnets from an exercise we did by the fire last night.
>Connemara
•July 28, 2009 • Leave a Comment>I am in the remote Connemara area of western Ireland. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) internet is very hard to come by and thus I will not be posting very often. I’m staying in a stone cottage with peeks of the sea, sheep, a friendly pony, a dog and gorse, purple vetch, woodbine, purple loosestrife, agrimony, and self-heal. Our cottage has a turf fire and a loft where I work and watch the new calf swanning around with his gold-colored mother. It has been productive for me—many new poems and stories happening. I cannot post pictures because they aren’t on this computer. Just picture the most beautiful, unspoiled place you can imagine and you will have some idea of what it is like here.
Literary Imaginings by Lisa C. Taylor 