Alongside his own poetry, John Hewitt was an advocate for a tradition of Northern poets. His edition of the poems of William Allingham is also worth looking out.

Hewitt described Allingham as 'one of the most civilised of Irishmen'.

Interesting article about Northern Ireland's literary boom and a moving acknowledgment of Ben Kiely's and Maurice Leitch's roles in building that literary culture.

A new edition of Benedict Kiely's Proxopera is now available with the bonus addition of some of his short stories.

North stars: ‘The vitality of Northern Irish writing has always coincided with political upheaval’. Belfast has a vibrant literary scene despite underfunding of the arts. Lucy Caldwell, Jan Carson, publisher James Doyle and critic John Self share thoughts

irishtimes.com/culture/books/…

There are many reasons to mourn Shane MacGowan but the weight of tradition in his songs and his ability to create a new tradition from it is one reason.

I reread Dr Dickon Edwards account of travelling to Tangier with Shane, in The Decadent Handbook Dedalus Books in tribute.

Today's Personal Anthology contains a recommendation for one of Brian Moore's short stories taken from 'The Dear Departed'.

Moore is not known as a short story writer but his stories have an emotional impact that merits reading.

Happily, 'Silver's City' is in print and easily found No Alibis Bookstore

Maurice's 'The Liberty Lad', Patricia Craig outlines its importance, is easily to be found in Belfast's secondhand bookshops, especially Keats and Chapman on North Street (beside the John Hewitt pub).

The Guardian's obituary of Maurice Leitch captures much of his personality, how he added to 'the gaiety of life's and the 'abrasive approach' his novels took in raising the issues of Northern Irish society.

A very fine tribute to Maurice Leitch from his local newspaper paper, the Antrim Guardian

antrimguardian.co.uk/news/2023/10/0…

Wonderful article by Gail Walker giving Maurice Leitch the credit he was always due for bringing Northern Irish literature into a more contemporary world.

Here's a photo Maurice kept in his library. Maurice is in the centre while Seamus Heaney leans in from the left.

Maurice Leitch brilliantly captured Ulster Protestant experience. His stories add to complexity of living on the island. Without his work & that of others like him, politics, history & society here, never mind literature, can only be partially understood belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/column…

For the publication of Maurice's last novel, 'Gone to Earth', I wrote a short article Irish Times Culture
outlining how Maurice dragged the Northern Irish novel into a new world.

irishtimes.com/culture/books/…

Very sorry to hear of Maurice Leitch's death. I was immensely proud to publish a new edition of 'Silver's City' and his final novel, 'Gone to Earth'. Meeting him in his favourite pub led to publishing his friend, Ian Cochrane, as well.

He leaves behind quite the legacy of work.

Thanks Jan Carson Happily, a biography of Barbara Comyns is coming next year, written by Avril Horner with a wealth of fascinating detail about Comyns' eccentric life.

It will also correct Comyns' year of birth, she was actually born in 1907.

Great article about Virago Press, with the fascinating detail that a bookshop buyer in Belfast in the 1980s said there would be no interest in the books because there were 'no feminists' in Belfast.

theguardian.com/books/2023/jun…

I love these covers - partic The Small Widow - and what an intriguing title.

Andrew Crumey has been following his own inventive, erudite path for a long time and deserves much wider appreciation.

'Pfitz' is also a good place to start. There's quite the backlist to find, thanks to Dedalus Books commitment to it.

Includes Janet McNeill's 'The Maiden Dinosaur':

'the architect of a realism that insinuates its harrowing effects into the depths of consciousness, McNeill should be a fixture in every reading person's knowledge of Irish literature' says Neil Hegarty

Sad to hear of Camille Souter's death.

Here is her work on the cover of Benedict Kiely's Collected Stories. A perfect image for the stories to come.

Thanks Jan Carson Northern Ireland's 'forgotten' writers tended to resist easy categorisation in their own time and, so, have more to say to readers today.

The more a writer muddles accepted opinion, the more they offer new perspectives on contemporary problems, perhaps.

This will be fascinating celebration of an exceptional short story writer.

Mary Beckett was described by Brian Moore as 'an extraordinary miniaturist of ordinary lives, lives of quiet despair sometimes relieved by quixotic gestures of defiance'.