In conversation with ... Danielle McLaughlin

It took an sudden illness to divert Danielle McLaughlin away from a career in the law and toward creative writing and the short story. It was a change work making however, as in a few short years she has become one of rising stars of the short story - not just in Ireland but throughout the English speaking world. Andrew Hamilton find out more.

Danielle McLaughlin is the new It-Girl of the Irish short story. She has emerged as if from nowhere, and in a relatively short period of time has produced a body of work worthy of publications she has graced and the many awards she has won.

Usually, behind every literary rags-to-riches story, there lies an untold tale of a decades worth of unseen labour. Danielle however, served her literary apprenticeship as a solicitor, learning about the language from the surprisingly creative vantage of the legal profession. 

"Books were always part of life, I was always a big reader. Books were always there but writing was a more recent development. I'm not sure why this happened for me now and not earlier. I would have tried, I attempted stories at different times over the years but it never took off. I didn't have the same obsession to write that I do now. I am totally in to writing these days - it is a really big part of my life," she says.

"I think, maybe, it has something to do with the fact that I was practicing as a solicitor for a long time and I find the two jobs quite similar. I found law to be a very creative profession - it was giving me the drama, it was giving me the stories and it was giving me the working with language In great detail.

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The One Hour Story Challenge [OHSC]

Welcome to the One Hour Story Challenge [OHSC] - a new element on Fighting Talk. Every so often a handful of writers will come together and attempt to write a short story or piece of flash fiction, based loosely on a particular topic or prompt, in just one hour. The OHSC is a bit of a call to action, more about getting stuck in and writing something interesting than spending too much time thinking about it. It's at least as much about the writing process as it is about the finished product.
The first OHSC features works from Alíona Hamilton [aged 13] and Andy Hamilton who created stories based around the title 'Freckles'. 

You can read the stories HERE

In Conversation With Dave Lordon

Cork poet, Dave Lordan, arrived in the Burren last week with an unexpected appraisal of the future of the poetry – in short, it doesn’t have one. Lordan, who has just been appointed as Doolin’s first ever Writer-in-Resident, believes that poetry, the like that is thought in school at least, has long ago lost any real resonance and must be replaced with something altogether new. The poet is dead, long live the… In conversation with Andy Hamilton.

Picture robbed without permission from margaretaobrien.com

AH: As a poet, does spending time in a place like the Burren tend to inspire you to be creative?  
Dave: I’ve written three books of poetry and they’ve all done very well. I was the first guy to win all three of Ireland’s national prizes for young poets, I’d be quite popular at festivals and things like that. But I’ve had enough of poetry to be honest with you. I’ve done it for ten years, I’ve three books out, the world doesn’t need any more straight forward sorts of poems. So I’m moving into other forms now at the moment. I’m interested in teaching, in multi-media than I am in other forms of poetry. So inspired, I am absolutely, I’m using my new tablet to make little film, little postcards and that sort of thing. So I am engaging creatively in the local area, but not necessarily in what we think of as poetry. I see poetry as making meaning out of symbols, it doesn’t have to be words even, in can be pictures, it can be anything.

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