WRITING and TEACHING News
Come and learn the art and craft of writing personal essays in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Just a Few Spots Left for a Workshop on Writing Personal Essays on October 29th at the Gloucester Writers Center
I’m really looking forward to this workshop at this intimate writers center located just steps from Gloucester Harbor.
Learn more and register here.
Or read some samples of my own published essays at this page.
One of my many summer 2023 beach strolls at Ocean Park, Maine
Back to School: Gearing up for Fall Workshops and Creative Writing Classes
Well, it’s been a good season, but it’s time to get off the beach and get back to the work that I love.
This Saturday, I kick off the Autumn and winter teaching season with a workshop, “Darling, You’re Making a Scene” at the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin, Ireland. This workshop is now full, and I’m really looking forward to meeting 12 new writers.
“I enjoyed your workshop and hope you return next year. ”
Other upcoming venues for creative writing workshops include the Gloucester Writers Center.
For expressive writing sessions, I’m excited to be returning to Massachusetts General Hospital. I also have a new hospital venue on the west coast (details TBD).
Contact Me to Set Up a Creative or Wellness Writing Program
I still have some openings for wellness writing and creative writing sessions. Get in touch so we can chat about what might work best for you and your group.
At the Blog: “Just Do Your Own Work:” On the 10th Anniversary of Seamus Heaney’s Death
Photo credit: Sean O’Connor, 2009
As a 17-year-old undergraduate student in Dublin, I was lucky enough to have Séamus Heaney as my professor and the chair of our college English Department.
It’s funny the things you remember about or associate with someone. In addition to his poetic talent and genuine kindness, Séamus Heaney was the first man I ever saw wearing western-styled cowboy boots. Also, he could tell a great, great story—mostly about rural life in Ireland.
My 5 Tips on Writing Difficult Memoirs at “Women Writers. Women’s Books”
“Scary as they first seem, they (hard-to-write memories) can look and feel differently when you’ve taken the time to step back, self-reflect and then find the key–or keys–to unlock the power of your story and, most important, get it written.”
Fall 2023 Writing Workshops: Starting at September 9th at The Irish Writers Center, Dublin
Feel free to join us virtually at Irish Writers Centre (Dublin) for "Darling, You're Making a Scene." This three-hour, interactive workshop is suitable for fiction and non-fiction authors. Note the five-hour time difference for U.S. writers!
New Essay: London A-Z: A Memoir at Litro Magazine
We’ve all had those youthful experiences that, if we could, we would delete from our past. This memoir essay, “London A-Z: A Memoir” is about my brief stint of living as an Irish person in London during the 1980s and shortly after the Brighton IRA bombings. The piece is also about cities and social class—and how, at least in retrospect, we are complicit in other folks’ racism and classism.
A Great Day In New Hampshire for the 603 Writers Conference
Creative writing workshop for fiction and nonfiction writers at the New Hampshire Writers Project
On June 3, I led a memoir writing workshop, “Darling You’re Making a Scene” at The New Hampshire Writers Project 603 Conference.
This was a well-organized and very welcoming gathering of authors, poets, workshop teachers, agents and booksellers.
As a trained teacher and published author, I love to lead creative and expressive writing workshops.
Get in touch to chat about what kind of workshop might work best for your group.
2023 Issue of The Lowell Review Now Available Online
My coming-of-age memoir, “Unnatural” set in my native Ireland, in The Lowell Review. The Lowell Review is our regional literary journal.
I am thrilled to have my memoir essay, “Unnatural,” published in “The Lowell Review,” our regional literary magazine here in the Merrimack Valley.
“Unnatural” combines knitting instructions (I love to knit) with a coming-of-age essay set in rural Ireland.
Check out all the contributing authors to this beautifully designed and bound book is available to buy here.
Or read the online version for free at the link below.
My piece is on page 115.
Workshop, “Darling You’re Making a Scene” at The New Hampshire Writers Project 603 Conference
I love leading writing workshops via virtual platforms. But I am also excited to be getting back out there to deliver some in-person and interactive classes. In June, I will be teaching a morning and afternoon session at the 2023 603 conference by the New Hampshire Writers Project. This should be a wonderful gathering of authors, poets, workshop teachers, agents and booksellers. Check it out!
New Essay On Ireland and Irishness Published at NPR/WBUR Cognoscenti
My essay, “We Irish Are More Than Folks Songs and Whiskey” was published on Saint Patrick’s Day.
“The U.S. and international film industries have been good for Irish tourism, but too often, it has rendered a reductive and clichéd version of a country that, like all nations, has its nuances, contradictions and dualities.”
This is a photo I took of The Neale, County Mayo, my native village.
It’s Women’s History Month and Irish Heritage Month
Read my essay, “Something to Declare,” published in WBUR Cognoscenti, our local NPR station.
This piece honors both my late grandmother’s life and my native country of Ireland.
In this anthology of women’s writing, I am one of the 40 women writers who answered the question, “Who Am I Today?” My short piece, “A Faithful Heart” is about the caregiver experience.
Kick off Women’s History Month: Join Us for The Launch of This Anthology of Women’s Writing
I am delighted to kick off Women’s History Month by joining 14 other women writers for the March 2 launch of this anthology from the Journal of Expressive Writing from The Center for Women's Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University.
Register + join us for this free event!