For weeks I had noted the increasing height of the plants shooting up from the untended compost pile in the corner of our backyard. With 20-plus years of accumulated organic matter, there was no telling what was growing. One recent morning when I let our 12-year old Yellow Lab Ivy…
Located primarily in the northwest of County Clare, the Burren, is one of the world’s most unique landscapes. It means “great rock” in Irish (Boireann), and is dominated by thick successions of sedimentary rocks, often compared to a lunar landscape. In the following essay and series of photographs, Clare Mulvany take…
It’s harvest time on Old Frog Pond Farm so Linda Hoffman reports being busy with raspberries, butternut squash, and tomatoes. But the farm is not exclusively a working farm; it is also a cultural site and this week, Linda did a post on the upcoming arts events. Here are the…
Joe McGowan, a native of Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo, is a noted historian, novelist, folklorist, and an acclaimed storyteller. Readers of Trasna will be familiar with his talent as Joe launched our first issue of Trasna with his piece entitled, “May: Mary’s Month or Baal’s?” Joe’s essay thoughtfully explored the “green…
Before a neck injury in 2005 Irish poet Monica Corish spent many years travelling, living and working in Africa. Based now in Co. Leitrim, in her poems here Corish brings the reader from the sublime beauty of a night spent on a mountaintop near Lokichokio in northern Kenya in her…
If 2020 is the year for armchair travel, Maeve O’Sullivan’s Elsewhere provides readers with an epic trip. Now in its fourth edition, it features haiku, haibun (a mix of prose and haiku), and long-form poetry. The writing captures a solo, around-the-world journey that took place in the fall of 2016…
Thanks to Nancye Tuttle for sharing this story which originally appeared in the Portland Press Herald. After the Storm By Nancye Tuttle ‘Don’t pick up the baby. Whatever you do, don’t pick up the baby.” My father-in-law’s voice boomed over the intercom from the flying bridge of his vessel, the…
In this photo essay, Beginning Again, contemplative photographer, writer and award-winning blogger, Catherine Drea reflects on the experience of being in lockdown during COVID-19. Her place is rural County Waterford in south-east Ireland and her reflections and stunning photographs show us the art of paying attention, always with an eye…
While we were busy with Baseball Week (or maybe “Fortnight” since it lasted for two weeks), Linda Hoffman has added a couple of new posts to her Apples, Art, and Spirit blog. Pedaling for Peace In this June 28, 2020, post, Linda writes about Sam Gloyd who is making a…
For the month of July, here on Trasna, we will be highlighting some of the literary and artistic events cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured this week is the West Cork Literary Festival, an annual, weeklong celebration of writing workshops offered by some of the finest Irish and international writers.…