As Trasna continues to celebrate National Poetry Month, we also note that this week marked the one-hundred and ninth anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The ship was constructed by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and its last port of call was Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland.…
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Poet Anthony Febo did his best work in Lowell for a long time, but has moved on with a family and new goals as a teacher and writer. Kudos to “Febo” for publishing his first book, “Becoming an Island” (Game Over Books, 2021). Please consider ordering a copy. He may…
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Eddy Silva’s Wake By Mark Cote Eddy Silva died last Tuesday. Heart attack. 68 years old. Looked 82. Untethered by circumstances he lived the life of a drifter. Two wives, five kids and countless jobs on his scorecard. Beaten down. Neither women nor job could keep him in one place…
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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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Boarding School Blues By Louise Peloquin Chapter 9: Inside & Outside Study Hall Sixty desks were arranged in ten rows in the second floor study hall where any breach of the silence rule lead to the worst of sanctions – recreation deprivation. Every cough, sneeze or sigh echoed so clearly…
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Zombie Wonderland By David Daniel The radio DJ said, “Be caller number seven and win!” Bored, I dialed. “Congratulations,” someone said, not the deejay, a young woman, probably a station intern. “You’re caller seven.” “Cool,” I said. “I never win anything.” “Well, you sure did this time. Your name and…
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A Walk Before the Storm By Prudence Brighton Juniper turned toward me and announced, “I haven’t had fresh air in a long time.” She is six and had just finished her remote learning for the day. We were out for a walk before a winter storm closed in. Walking with…
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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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The Paper Route By Jacqueline Cayer Nelson McDonald Reviewed by Richard Howe When asked to list my favorite activities, reading would be near the top. Because history would also be high on that list, most of the books I read are nonfiction. But every so often I pick up a…
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Black Fingernails and Calluses By Mark Cote Every old man wants to tell the story of when he was somebody. When he knew what to do, where to be and when. When he had a routine to his day, even had a title at the job he spent more than…
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