To read

I always liked Robert Harbison's line, somewhere in Eccentric Spaces, to the effect that, "catalogues give you the feeling that there are more things in the world than you had remembered." Conferences make me feel the same way. A few days in sunny Galway at The American Conference for Irish Studies certainly made me feel like this. Anyway, some poetry collections I'm now looking forward to reading (or to getting hold of) include Chris Agee's Next to Nothing, Ed Madden's Signals, and Nathalie Anderson's Crawlers. Jefferson Holdridge's critical book on Paul Muldoon is also one for the in-tray. Finally, I'm quite keen to see the special issue of An Sionnach devoted to Paula Meehan.

Galway poetry reading

Tomorrow, I'm taking part in a group poetry reading, in Sheridan's Wine Bar, Galway City. The reading part of a series called 'Over the Edge' and is taking place in collaboration with the American Conference for Irish Studies. It's a chance to catch with old friends, above anything else. It is also good that the conference are promoting a commemorative reading for James Liddy in Kenny's Bookshop (which used to be in the City Centre but is now on the Tuam Road) on Friday.

New York Times chess blog

Yes, there is one - and it goes by the name of 'Gambit'. A recent post, which brought the blog to my attention, has some interesting thoughts about the use of chess in film.

Wurm im Apfel

I hadn't read in Dublin for quite a long time, but finally got a chance to do so recently, at an event hosted by Wurm im Apfel. They have relatively regular readings in the Sycamore Club which is located in the Temple Bar area, above The Purty Kitchen. Apparently, they make a habit of recording their events, and so you can find my reading on their site.
Thanks to my hosts, Kit Fryatt and Dylan Harris.

Carsten Hansen

One of the better chess sites at the moment is Chesscafe.com A recent review of a couple of opening repertoire books by Carsten Hansen made me think about the way reviewing cultures vary. Hansen frankly slammed two books by Nikolai Kalinichenko. About the first book Hansen says:
"This book is incredibly bad. Too many lines are covered insufficiently and many important options are ignored outright. On top of this, we have an unacceptable amount of references to the other volume; either you cover all the relevant moves or you do not. It is ridiculous to constantly refer the reader elsewhere for information that should be included here. This is one of the worst opening books I have ever seen."
Although harsh, this kind of review is not unusual on chess sites. To review a poetry book in such terms is, of course, a different matter ...

James Liddy

I've just completed a piece about James Liddy for An Sionnach, an Irish literary magazine run out of Creighton University. Sadly, James died recently and, as his Irish Times obituary attests, he is much missed by his many friends on both sides of the Atlantic. He was very good to me when I was teaching at Macalester College.
The collections under review were Wexford and Arcady and Askeaton Sequence, both published by Arlen House. Despite being separate collections, the books contain exactly the same text on the back cover, including the following phrase, "With this collection it can be said the poet has become in charge of his literary undertaking: he has been able finally to write out his own language." Anyway, it is good to see these books, and we must hope, now, for a new Selected Poems.

Repossessions

I've just sent in my review of Lament for Art O'Leary to P. N. Review. I recommend Vona Groarke's new translation, which is more informal and contemporary than earlier versions. Groarke's introduction also sent me off to read Sean O'Tuama's Repossessions which deals with a variety of Irish-language classics. I like the way in which O'Tuama describes how the Lament uses "the earth and stones of ordinary conversation," a quality which he associates with Revivial artworks like Riders to the Sea.