WRITING ban be a very lonely business, so it is probably not surprising that in recent years the country has seen a virtual explosion in the number of writers' groups setting up. These groups offer solidarity, companionship, a bit of craic with fellow scribes and the benefit of positive criticism.
One such group is the Inkwell, which meets every Monday night in Mahaffy's pub in Pearse Street in Dublin. And now 19 of the club's members have each submitted a short story for an anthology, Dublin Stories.
The collection shows clearly that the art of short story writing is alive and kicking. The stories range from the humorous to the serious to the whimsical.
That well known Dublin scribe, Vincent Caprani, contributes a hilarious piece called How Jem the Dancer Suffered Durance Vile for Ireland. Jem's misuse of the English language would leave Mrs Malaprop in the ha'penny place and had this reader laughing out loud.
Business Morals
Brian McCabe contributes an enchanting story on the morals of big business in The Merchant of Francis Street, which also manages to delve into the history of the Dublin Liberties along the way. Aine Brehany in A Touch of Lace, tenderly explores a wife's shock and horror at the discovery that her husband is a transvestite. This story is published posthumously for sadly Aine, from Greystones, died in 1992.
The 19 stories reveal a wide range of talents and touch on a diversity of subjects. A reflective view of the single woman and how the world uses her in youth is presented in Joan Slowey's No Way Out, while the situation of a woman in middle age is explored in Lynn Pennefather's A Kind of Freedom.
As the poet Brendan Kennelly says in his foreword, "There's an attractive range of narrative voices here, crisply and convincingly told, a group of lively, penetrating, well told stories that will keep the reader entertained and thoughtful, long after putting the book down."
Kennelly praises the authentic language in the stories and their lack of pretentiousness and draws particular attention to the way they present a lyrical evocation of Dublin.
Workshop Course
The Inkwell writer's group grew out of a writer's workshop course in the People's College and has been in existence now for 20 years. The members come from a wide group of backgrounds and range in age from early twenties to late seventies.
As chairperson, Paddy Ryan explains, the participants in the original workshop wanted to continue the stimulation, repartee and comradeship that comes from writing. The basic purpose of the group is to act as a support and a group advisory for the creative writing of the members.
Paddy says: "Reading one's work in public has been likened to the barest form of self exposure. What a writer sees is his little angels torn to shreds by others." But he adds: "Most would agree that the experience is great."
The group has a core membership of about 25 regular attenders and an average group meeting would see between 10 to 20 people turn up. The drill is for four or five people to read from work in progress or finished work, and then for the group to discuss it. People are free to reject advice but most take it on board, go home and rewrite.
Self supporting
The Inkwell receives no grants and the group is self supporting. Members pay a pound or two each week to cover running costs. Paddy Ryan says that new members are always welcome but stresses that the group is for serious writers. Most are fiction writers who specialise in short stories, although they also have a number of poets among the regular membership.
Kennelly says that years ago he read a short story called Not Another Bloody Irish Short Story. He found it lively and incisive and it stayed with him because of its implication that we've seen too many Irish short stories in recent years.
It's a proposition with which he profoundly disagrees, because many of the short stories that keep appearing are a pleasure to read. So it is with this collection.
As Kennelly ends his introduction: Thanks be to God for another collection of bloody Irish short stories.
Dublin Stories is published by Inkwell and costs £5.99p.