Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. People will wear green and drink green beer. Cities will hold parades and put green dye into a nearby river or lake. So in honour of all that's St. Pat, let's consider Irish literature.
It's one of the oldest modern European literatures, arising in the 5th century. Poets were respected; those from the bardic schools attended at the royal courts. Oral storytelling was an art form. Stories told the history and they were the entertainment and the crux of the Irish cultural identity.
Who but the Irish have the Blarney Stone, which, if you kiss it, upsidedown (?), it makes you wise with words. Or is it lucky in love? Perhaps those two are connected.
That was then. What about today? Whose out there? Who are the rising stars?
There are the supernovas, the big names: Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Richard Brinsley Sheridan (one of my favourites!), Roddy Doyle, Seamus Heaney, Maeve Binchy (see? something for everyone!) Claire Keegan, Gerard Byrne, who is currently writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick, and Kevin Barry.
Make a list! Spread your wings! Read something green!
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