THE STORY SO FAR. PART 194

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF DROPPING OUT AND GOING TO LIVE IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE?

THE MEMORABLE ‘THE OLIVE GARDEN’ BY ACTRESS CAROL DRINKWATER TELLS JUST SUCH A STORY IN A HIGHLY PERSONAL, EVOCATIVE, AND SENSUAL WAY

http://www.caroldrinkwater.com

I don’t know how I missed THE OLIVE GARDEN when it was first published in 2001—I tend to be fairly alert to key words or phrases like “South of France” but somehow I missed the book completely. Fortunately Jo, who I had the honor of helping to nurse as she was dying of cancer, had the book in her collection—and though most of her books were donated to worthy institutions before I moved into this apartment, somehow THE OLIVE GARDEN remained.

Let me confess that I picked it up reluctantly. I was looking for a thriller to relax with. Nonetheless, I was soon gripped by Carol Drinkwater’s vivid tale—and finished it with great regret. I know the area she was writing about and have great affection for it.

The story is not complicated. She and her lover, Michel, find a house set on ten acres not far from Cannes—which they can’t really afford—buy it (a saga in itself) and gradually restore the property despite numerous setbacks.

The author, Carol Drinkwater, is arguably best known for her role in ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL—a TV series which was widely popular, but which I do not recall having seen. What I can say, is that whatever about her talent as an actress (and I gather she is highly regarded) she writes beautifully—with energy, empathy and a senusality that is entirely appropriate to her subject.

This is a must read book.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 176

“MARCH OR DIE”—OR DO I MEAN “WRITE?”

JUST REMEMBER: IT MAY WELL BE A LONG MARCH

My beautiful sister Lucy’s web site has once again produced an admirable graphic. She must be telepathic.

Sometimes I think that everybody can write, but what stops most people is the amount of stamina required. We are talking years, at best, and probably longer. Of course my comment about everybody being able to write is not true—a great many people can scarcely construct a coherent paragraph, let alone write a 400 page book, but I am just saying it to emphasize that making a living from writing requires more endurance than you can imagine. And the number of people who believe in you may shrink to a frighteningly small total. The good news is that all you need is one. The bad news is that you may not have even that—unless, and until, you are financially successful. Becoming a good writer, in the critical sense, does not cut it because we—such value being part of our current cultural norms--are conditioned to regard financial success as the only determinant. True, it is important and useful—but, it is not, and should not be, the sole standard by which we judge achievement.

People will support almost anyone doing anything for a limited time—frequently without understanding it—but they get very exasperated when months stretch into years; and their support evaporates and tends to be replaced by frustration, irritation and anger.

Why so? Because most of us live corporate or government manipulated, structured lives which are divided into predictable bite-sized bits within the context of short time frames. Pay is generally predictable—as long as you have a job, which you can lose if you step out of line—and comes every couple of weeks or every month. Accordingly someone who is prepared to wait for years for an uncertain payoff is considered both irresponsible and arguably insane. And he or she is certainly different—and different is not considered to be good. People are uncomfortable around you. They wonder what you do all day—suspect it has to be something dubious—and marginalize you. If nothing else, you are the antithesis of the corporate/government mindset—so your very existence threatens the status quo. You really need to be put down—literally, metaphorically; or both..

Welcome to my writer’s world. Is it worth it? Many would think not. I can’t think of anything more invigorating. Do I mind the setbacks, the judgmental attitudes, the negative comments and the criticism?

What I mind is irrelevant. I just know I have got to continue. I guess, if we were talking about religion, we would call that faith—and perhaps it is.

My heart goes out to my fellow struggling writers—and all writers, whether successful or not, struggle. Hang in there! You may have no immediate support, but you are not alone. I doubt you give a damn. You have writing.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 174

“LONG, COMPLICATED CONVERSATIONS” 

WORDS, AND HOW THEY ARE USED, HAVE A SPECIAL STATUS IN IRELAND—AND IT SHOWS

My gorgeous sister, Lucy, featured the above anecdote on Facebook—and it set me to thinking. Lucy’s observations have a tendency to do that. She is the youngest member of the family, and almost certainly the wisest—and she has an excellent visual sense.

Where conversation is concerned, the reputation of the Irish is already legendary—whether the Blarney stone has been kissed or not. If you haven’t heard of the Blarney stone, I will say no more except to report that legend has it that if you do kiss it (you need a head for heights to do this) you will have the gift of the gab forever. Frankly, I don’t think most Irish need such encouragement.

So, let me turn to the written word. Here, I am nothing if not biased because my life is focused on just that—words—and written words at that. Whether such words are printed on paper, or read on an e-reader, tablet, or Smart Phone makes scant difference to the process of writing (although I detect a tendency for e-books to be shorter). But writing is writing.

Where writing is concerned, as it happens, Ireland, an extremely small country in terms of population—a  little over 6 million in a world of 7 billion—has produced an impressive number of world class writers, and continues to do so; one of them being that truly admirable teller of tales, the late Maeve Binchy quoted above.

Another being my own son, Christian O’Reilly, who apart from being an award winning playwright, has one movie to his credit—more than I have so far—and now writes for the BBC (which is the literary equivalent of qualifying as a Navy SEAL; it’s that tough).

They are both part of a magnificent tradition.

I could go on. There is that phenomenal poet, Seamus Heaney, and that beautiful writer, Peter Cunningham.

And then we come to to movie director Neil Jordan, who is also an author of surpassing talent. Can you place Neil Jordan? Think INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE with Tom Cruise—and much else besides.

All in all, even if one does not hark back to such literary luminaries as Swift, Yeats and Wilde, the roll call of Irish talent (both past and current)constitutes a long, long, list—longer than most people realize because Irish writers are also often claimed by the British as well! Indeed they claim the Duke of Wellington, himself a very fine writer, as a British military hero. But the man was Irish, I will have you know. Yes he did say: “Being born in a stable doesn’t make one a horse,” but nobody is perfect.

What can I say! It’s a complex relationship, and the British are not exactly short of bards (let me throw in Shakespeare, who is generally reckoned to be culturally acceptable)) but they still like to claim the successful Irish as their own, when they can. I suspect this stems from their empire complex—a feeling that they have a right to sail the world and grab whatever they can. Appreciate that a lot of Vikings settled in Britain and contributed to the gene pool. Indeed, the Normans, who won the Battle of Hastings and thus conquered England in 1066, were originally Vikings. Not many people know that.

But let me offer a few thoughts on how Ireland’s continuing literary tradition has come about. Much as the Vikings long had a tradition of raiding, pillage, rape and destruction (which somehow has produced the extraordinarily peaceful and economically successful Scandinavian countries) the Irish have long been besotted with words. Think “grand passion.” This is not a minor dalliance.

And here we are talking about a love affair that has endured for roughly a millennium and a half—a singular display of affection and fidelity. For most of that time it has been predominately oral, but the written word has been present—principally because of the influence of monks—for longer than most people realize. Nonetheless, the dominant tradition was oral.

Here is an insight from Wikipedia:

Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe. The earliest examples date from the 6th century, and are generally short lyrics on themes from religion or the world of nature. They were frequently written by their scribe authors in the margins of the illuminated manuscripts that they were copying. The best known example is Pangur Bán.

It was practical for poems to be short because the Irish recognized that it was necessary to use any means necessary to make the poems lasting in their oral culture. To accomplish such a feat as well as they have, they used complicated rhyme schemes that would render a poem nonsensical if any of the key words were changed from the original version.

In an oral culture, Irish poetry had many uses. A poem could be used to immortalize both the poet and the subject of the poem; oftentimes kings would commission poets to create a piece about them. Such poems would be passed on to descendants so they would remember the great deeds of past generations.

But why are the Irish oral and literary traditions so distinctive and so enduring?

• They are endemic to the culture. Words and what you can do with them, are enormously important to the Irish—and wit is considered fundamental to the human condition.
• Oppression under English rule for many hundreds of years meant that, for many, words and dreams were all the Irish had left—so they made the most of them. In Ireland, dreams have substance.
• Success breeds success. It is singularly inspiring to have so many extraordinarily talented role models for generation after generation.
• The juxtaposition of the Irish and English languages—with Irish adding something very special to the way English is both spoken and written.
• The high status of education in Ireland which has long resulted in an extremely literate population.
• The active support of the Irish government from the foundation of the state in the belief that the nourishment of the culture was –and remains—singularly important.

The results, I am delighted to say, have been—and continue to be—spectacular, despite Ireland’s current economic woes. Enlightened societies have long known that investing in a nation’s culture generates  both tangible and intangible added value—and that the free market alone is not sufficient. This raises the interesting question of what tangible benefits could be generated if the U.S. ever decided to invest in the arts in a serious way. Current support for the arts, in a nation of about 315 million, is little more than tokenism.

I suspect we would be agreeably surprised, economic growth would be stimulated, and the quality of our lives would be enhanced.

It would be interesting to pick one state and really experiment—because if one could show definitively what the effect of supporting the arts could be, the consequences could change our thinking profoundly.

If you doubt me, just take a trip to Europe and there just imagine the economic effects of the Renaissance. Wander, browse, look and think. Stare in awe. Wander around Verona. Soak up the beauty of Florence. Watch the palio—it’s a horse race--in Sienna. Gaze in admiration at St. Peters. Consider what these people created.

The impact of that extraordinary time must have exceeded that of the Marshall Plan many times.

I rest my case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 171

THIS PHOTO OF MY MOTHER IS SO LIKE MY DAUGHTER, EVIE—AT A COMPARABLE AGE—IT IS REMARKABLE

My much loved sister Lucy keeps on pulling family photos out her mysterious horde—which begs the question as to where they are coming from. I thought I had the main repository—and mine are all in store. Yet Lucy keeps on issuing such photos on Facebook. Time for me to ask, I suspect. Either way, I’m delighted. I had thought some of these were lost.

My mother—an only child—was brought up in Newtown House, Termonfeckin, Co. Loth, Ireland—a place large enough to be an institution. It now is one—and has been so for many decades. It is the headquarters of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association, and seems to be mainly used as a training center. It is now called An Grianan.

An Grianan Adult Education Center (Termonfeckin (Tearmann Feichín))

The ICA purchased what was then known as Newtown House, in trust for the benefit of the people of Ireland. In October 1954 An Grianán was officially opened by the then President of Ireland, Mr. Seán T. O'Kelly. It is now open all year for a wide range of Adult education classes. Open to pubic for visitors. Garden center open.

My mother was educated by French governesses up to her mid teens. My much loved grandmother meant well—such an upbringing was the norm in her privileged world—but the results were disastrous. My mother felt oppressed by the governesses, missed the companionship of other children, and eventually rebelled completely.

When she was old enough, and WW II broke out, she took off for London and enlisted in the WAAF as a radar operator—and otherwise had what they call “a good war.” Men and women lived as if there was no tomorrow, because all too often, there wasn’t. Civilians died in their tens of thousands in the Blitz. Soldiers, sailors and airman died wherever they were sent. It wasn’t called a World War for nothing. They died throughout the globe. Meanwhile, when on leave, they did what young and frightened people do. They threw caution to the winds and sought comfort in each other’s arms.

I was one of the results. I, too, rebelled. It seems to be something of a family tradition. Children are one of life’s greatest pleasures—and worth every second of dedication—but difficult. And they don’t remain children. Such is the nature of the human condition. I don’t expect it to change.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 161

A MESSAGE TO ME FROM LINKEDIN—THEY NOW HAVE 200 MILLIONS MEMBERS! AND I HAVE ONE OF THE TOP 10% MOST VIEWED PROFILES.

MOST CONSIDERATE OF THEM TO LET ME KNOW. BUT MORE TO THE POINT—CONGRATUALATIONS LINKEDIN! AN AWESOME PERFORMANCE.

AND TO THINK I DIDN’T TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY WHEN THEY BEGAN!

The following is the message from LinkedIn I received very recently. It surprised the hell out of me because I doubt I have put as much effort into my LinkedIn entry as I should. Nonetheless, it is hard not to feel pleased—even though I am aware of the tricky ways of marketing people. They want me to feel good so I will pay them money. Yes, it is true. I am still a free member of LinkedIn. Do I think it is worth becoming a paid member? Well, it depends on your circumstances, but—on balance—I do. It is an amazing network—and an excellent service. 

Victor, congratulations!

You have one of the top 10% most viewed LinkedIn profiles for 2012.

LinkedIn now has 200 million members. Thanks for playing a unique part in our community!

I confess I have had a hard time warming up to Social Media—despite having spent considerable time researching it. In essence, there were my reservations:

• It was inherently distracting—and distraction is arguably a writer’s greatest enemy (exceeded only by despair—a writer must never give up).
• It had the potential to soak up time that would be better spent on writing or writing related work.
• I rather enjoy my privacy.
• My cultural background inclines me against self-promotion. Boasting was the ultimate crime in my youth—yet now if you don’t promote yourself, the world passes you by.
• Many of the remarks made on Facebook in particular seem inane (though maybe not to a loved one—a rather important point).

In fact, I changed my mind about LinkedIn some time ago because all kinds of interesting people I thought I had lost track of began to surface—together with a useful assembly of new contacts. In addition, LinkedIn itself steadily improved to the point where it is now downright impressive.

I have been slower to take to Facebook because I haven’t—s0 far—been able to work out an approach. Still, my marvelous sister, Lucy Ayettey—she of the five beautiful children—uses it with such consistency and skill that I think I have found a role model. Also, nearly lost friends keep surfacing on it—which is most agreeable.

Despite my initial reservations, I decided I would start with blogging because an author—no matter how introverted (and we are mostly a shy bunch) is supposed to have a blog; and blogging bears some resemblance to real writing in that whole sentences are used—and sometimes whole paragraphs! Good grief—what daring!

In truth, I didn’t find blogging easy at first, largely because I couldn’t figure out what to write about. As a consequence, I was inconsistent—which is arguably THE sin in the blogging world. Then I decided I would, quite deliberately, not plan, but just write about whatever came into my mind on the day in question.

Eureka! I was in business—and have now written well over 340 blogs in all, and maintained a daily blog for over five months. Better yet, I thoroughly enjoy the process, and feel it is helping to make me a better writer. It sharpens the mind when you have to think of something different to say day after day.

The next challenge will be to contribute to LinkedIn and Facebook—and after that the mind boggles!

Actually, it will probably Tweet.

A caution: The issue of time allocation remains a cause for concern. Blogging and the Social Media in general are all very well, but the primary task of a book-writing author is to do just that—to write books—and that invaluable resource, creative energy, is limited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IRELAND, LAND OF WILD GEESE & EVEN WILDER VOTERS

Cover of William Butler Yeats

Department of Concern About Ireland and Wild Geese

It appears that the Irish economy has been tossed a lifeline but on terms which are harsh in the extreme. 

I feel that other solutions could, and should, have been found, and that this standard government reflex – as implemented in quite a number of countries from the U.S. to the U.K - of saving banks at the expense of the population is a fundamentally flawed approach. 

The financial community should not be immune from the normal fate which results from insolvency.

I look forward to writing about that subject in the future, but my main focus right now has been to wonder what, if anything, the Irish diaspora can do to help. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that this disaster may be turned into an opportunity. Ireland was headed into becoming a singularly unpleasant place. 

With luck, new leadership and application, it may now head in a sounder direction.

Marshall Aurerback – www.newdeal20.org wrote a fine column on the Irish tragedy on November 29 2010 and finished it off with some poetry from W.B. Yeats. Let me quote:

“As always, leave it to the Irish to come up with the most poetic response to the crisis. True, W.B. Yeats did not live to see this disaster, but his passionate “September 1913” does evoke the tragedy of today’s Ireland and the futility of the current policy responses for their people (and beyond):

Was it for this the wild geese spread
The grey wing upon every tide;
For this that all that blood was shed,
For this Edward Fitzgerald died,
And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone,
All that delirium of the brave?
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.

Graves that might soon include not only the O’Learys, but also the Garcias, Texeiras, Moreaus, and Schmidts if a more rational course of action throughout the euro zone is not adopted soon.

Marshall Auerback is a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, and a market analyst and commentator.”

Department of Amazingly Interesting Websites

Junta42 are all about content and they practice what they preach.  Here is an example from founder Joe Pollizi’s blog on that site. Junta42 are all about linking those who need content with the talent that can provide it – and they seem to know exactly what they are doing.

CHECK THEM OUT Junta42

“The following is compliments from my friend Sage Lewis. A good reminder for everyone in marketing.

• 80% of all Internet users go immediately to a search engine when online. 
• 30-40% of users click on the first organic listing. 
• 62% of search users click a link on the first page of search engine results.
• Years to reach 50 millions users: Radio, 38 years; TV, 13 years; Internet, 4 years; iPod, 3 years. Facebook added 100 million users in less than nine months; iPhone applications hit 1 billion in nine months.  
• 77% of search users choose organic over paid listings when searching, 67% choose organic search when purchasing. 
• 40% of SEO campaigns aware of their ROI achieve returns in excess of 500%, while only 22% of PPC campaigns were able to achieve this value. 
• If Facebook were a country, it would be the world's fourth largest, between the United States and Indonesia. 
• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55- to 65-year-old females. 
• Social media has overtaken porn as the number one activity on the Web.

What makes all this work? Consistent and compelling content marketing.”

End of extract.

A SAD TIME FOR IRELAND & ANOTHER WARNING FOR THE U.S. (WHICH WE ARE LIKELY TO IGNORE)

Cover of James Joyce

JAMES JOYCE IS WIDELY KNOWN
 AS THE MAN WHO INTRODUCED SEX
TO IRELAND. PREVIOUSLY, IT WAS
UNKNOWN THERE.

Department of Hubris , Corruption, Greed, Incompetent Banks, Interchangeable Words & Predictable Outcomes

As I write this, Ireland is frighteningly near being bankrupt – and would be if it hadn’t got the EU to backstop it - a sad fate indeed for a country that had transformed itself from being one of the poorest nations within the EU, as late as the Eighties, to becoming one of the wealthiest by the first decade of this century.

The scale of the catastrophe – an entirely appropriate word in this context – is hard to grasp.

I find it particularly upsetting because I was once heavily involved in trying to reform the Irish economic system – with some success at the time - so now it is particularly galling to see so much of the progress that resulted being destroyed as a consequence of entirely preventable, and reprehensible, behavior.

Department of 'So what happened?' 

I’m going to write about it in detail some other time when I’ve dug a little deeper, but, in broad terms it seems to be a classic example of a nation getting rich too quickly, thoroughly bad political leadership, massive greed at just about every level, a property bubble that reached insane proportions before it burst, and a banking system that performed just about as badly as the U.S. financial sector.  Add in arrogance and corruption in large doses – and stir.

And now the Irish are emigrating once again. Since I devoted over a decade of my life, and all I possessed, to preventing that very thing, my initial reaction was to feel very, very angry. But since I have mellowed with the years – and everything is fodder to a writer – I have moved on to feel more philosophical than irate – and to await ‘The Big Picture’ – the scaled up version of Ireland’s economic collapse where the currency in question is the U.S. dollar.

I have run across two quotes about Ireland that fits the mood. One is the disturbingly accurate classic from James Joyce:

“Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”

The other makes me smile – which is exactly what I need to do right now to counter these bitter developments. It comes from Dave Barry.

“Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep.”

If we don’t change our ways, much the same fate await the U.S. economy – and for much the same reasons; and, as with Ireland, the collapse will come with disturbing speed. As for the sheep, could it be that the American version comes with two legs, is also known as ‘the voter’ and is disturbingly easy to manipulate.

Watch this space.