Dunlavin writers launch an anthology of their work
Image via Kilcullen Diary
DUNLAVIN Writers’ Group recently launched a 90-page anthology of their writing last month, titled .
The event, which took place at the Pumphouse bar and restaurant in Dunlavin, “was a great night socially,” said Florence Grace, who founded the group 32 years ago. “People chatted, maybe they hadn’t seen each other in a while, and this was an opportunity to get together.”
The book is the second anthology they have written and each of the 13 members contributed some form of writing – poetry, short stories, history writings or travel musings – to the book. “There’s a great variety of writing in it,” noted Florence.
Rather than being connected by a central theme, “we wrote whatever we thought was a reflection of ourselves,” she said.
Former CEO of the Higher Education Authority and Dunlavin native Paul O’Toole spoke at the event, noting the personal nature of the stories and the importance of local connection.
At the launch, they read out four extracts of writings from members who had passed away and one from a member in a nursing home. The group meets every month and each person brings a piece of work that responds to a prompt. “It can be challenging, but it’s also very interesting. People try to play around with the prompt,” explained Florence.
Ironically, the following month’s prompt was the book launch itself.
In recent years, the group has taken part in the Dunlavin Arts Festival in June through a ‘Thursday miscellany’ evening, where everyone gets the opportunity to read out something they have written, with musical interludes. “When people start out, they don’t have a lot of confidence – it’s hard to put yourself out there. The stories can be very personal,” noted Florence.
The anthology is, therefore, “a kind of a record for ourselves,” she said.
“It was a good bit of work to put it together. I would be an amateur; I was winging it. I got a lot of help from people in the group,” she explained.
The contributions are arranged in alphabetical order and each writer has a small bio at the end.
The anthology was so popular that the book almost sold out at the launch and will have to be reprinted. The original plan, to give €4 from each book sale to Baltinglass Day Care Centre, turned out to be too conservative and now €7 from each sale will be donated. Part of this was due to the generous sponsorship of local businesses, noted Florence.
Those who are interested in purchasing a copy of the anthology can email Florence at fsgrace@gmail.com.
