Beannachtaí Trasna are the words that leave me, they waft and wend their way to you from my acre in Ireland to your acre in Lowell and beyond, through earth, sea and sky…they mean Blessings Across. Happy New Year to all as December cedes to January, another year turns. We…
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Please welcome our newest contributor, Nick Cote. Cape Cod By Nick Cote If you are anything like me, born and raised in Massachusetts, you know that Cape Cod is a special place. Not too far from home yet far enough to be the perfect and tranquil vacation destination. Dennis Port…
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The Poetry of Mapmaking: Retracing Maps of Northern Maine and Elsewhere By Christine O’Connor Detail from Phillips’ Map of the ‘Moosehead – Allagash Region of Northern Maine’ (1978) This past summer I visited Harding’s Bookstore in Wells, Maine. It was the first time since the start of the pandemic.…
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Braiding the Sweetgrass in a Subaru Outback: Traveling with My Adventure Gang My Adventure Gang at an overnight campsite Road trips are a staple in American culture. And it’s not surprising that from a nation of immigrants came a nation of travelers. Here, Old World pilgrimages follow new paths: Route…
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Back from its extended summer break, Trasna is please to present the latest publication from poet Maeve O’Sullivan, Wasp on the Prayer Flag. This is Maeve’s fifth collection with Alba Publishing. It chronicles the years from 2018-2021 in haiku and senryu. Rooted in Ireland and its varied landscapes, with…
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A World Underground: Summer Rains Set Off a Merrimack Valley Mushroom Explosion By Doug Sparks This has been and will likely continue to be an exceptional year for Merrimack Valley mushroom hunters because of the unusual volume of rain. Unfortunately, it’s also a great year if you happen to be…
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John Wooding, a regular contributor to this blog, is the author of a new biography of Richard Gregg, an expansive thinker of the 20th century whose ideas about peaceful resistance to violence, voluntary simplicity, and sustainable environmental practices still inspire people today. John is also president of the Mill City…
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Whether a reader concurs with Chaucer’s view of Aprille as inspirational or agrees with Eliot’s claim that it “is the cruelest month,” April is National Poetry Month in the USA and April 29, 2021, is National Poetry Day in Ireland. This week we introduce four poems by Kerry Hardie, from…
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Whether a reader concurs with Chaucer’s view of Aprille as inspirational or agrees with Eliot’s claim that it “is the cruelest month,” April is National Poetry Month in the USA and April 29, 2021, is National Poetry Day in Ireland. So, we begin the month by introducing four poems by…
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It is the oldest vernacular language in Europe; it is “unique,” “complex,” and “primal.” Those are some of the words author Manchán Magan uses to describe the Irish language. Throughout the month of March, Trasna is featuring Irish language writers. We begin with Manchán Magan and his recent 2020 publication,…
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