Sunday, November 25, 2012

It's a Wonder



Our first anthology of short stories came about through a series of wondrous events.  Our Around the Block in Dublin Workshop  was actually a last minute substitution once we learned Liz 's daughter was expecting her first child and would, of course, need her mother.  We cancelled our originally-scheduled workshop in Jamaica exactly at the time I was in Dublin, and although Ireland is about as opposite of Jamaica as you can imagine, our Dublin Workshop filled quickly.  Dublin in March?  Well, why not?

Our week in Dublin fell days after of the revelry of St. Patrick's Day, fell into that grim gray time that all north-lying countries face.  When the weather is fickle at best.  Except this March.  During our week in Ireland, the sun decided to come out and stay.  The trees burst into pastel blossoms and the flowers dazzled us in Dublin's green parks.  The streets filled with sun-seekers in shirt sleeves and less.  It was, quite simply, a glorious time.

We had no rain, and so we toured and strolled and hung out in pubs.  We drank buckets of tea and wine and Guinness.  We listened to music and literary recitations and looked for ghosts.  We heard Galway Girl more times than we can count.

And the writing?  Oh yes, we wrote.  We wrote quickly and vividly and cohesively by inventing characters to inhabit the place where we stayed.  The Charles Stewart Guesthouse, named for Charles Stewart Parnell and the birthplace of the poet Oliver St. John Gogarty, is a Georgian house on Parnell Square.  Close to everything, and around the corner from the Dublin Writers Museum, the Charles Stewart has exactly enough quirks to appeal to writers.  Along with full Irish breakfasts and WiFi!  And we are grateful to Helen and her staff for catering to our every whim.

Through Around the Block on Parnell Square, we invite you, too, to experience the wonder of Dublin.