Irish poet, author, and professor Eavan Frances Boland passed away at her home in Dublin on Monday April 27th at the age of 75. Stanford University, where Boland taught since 1995, said in a statement that the cause was a stroke. Born September 24, 1944 in Dublin, Boland was the director of creative writing at Stanford for 21 years and a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award … [Read more...] about Eavan Boland
Archives for April 2020
The Amazing Role Gay Women Played in the 1916 Rising
This weekend marks the 104th anniversary of the The Easter Rising of 1916. In his new book, Niall O'Dowd looks at the women who took part in the Rising. Historical accounts of the gay movement in Ireland usually omit women, yet they had a remarkable part to play in the 1916 Rising as just one example and as lifelong advocates for human rights as another example. Mary … [Read more...] about The Amazing Role Gay Women Played in the 1916 Rising
What We Must Learn Learn From COVID-19
By Niall O'Dowd, Publisher When catastrophic change comes it leaves us disbelieving at first and very slow to accept. Such is the way with COVID-19. The warning signs were all there, bird flu and SARS, two forerunners could easily have been contagious killer viruses but we dodged two bullets. The world promptly turned its head away. But like the … [Read more...] about What We Must Learn Learn From COVID-19
Easter 1916 a Terrible Beauty
By Niall O'Dowd, Publisher This Easter time, despite Coronavirus and the suffering and isolation it has caused we should pause to remember the 104th anniversary of the Easter 1916 Rising which reminds us of the extraordinary sacrifices of previous generations. It should give us inspiration that fighting against the odds whether they be a deadly virus or taking on an empire … [Read more...] about Easter 1916 a Terrible Beauty
A Teacher Learns A Lesson
By Tom Deignan About a month ago, if you’d asked me how things were going, I could only shrug. Busy, busy, busy. My day job as an English teacher sends me on an hour and 45 minute trek from New Jersey to Brooklyn - at a high school Mondays through Fridays, and a college on Saturdays. There’s also an after-school class wedged in there two days a week. I’ve found … [Read more...] about A Teacher Learns A Lesson