I am in Ireland at the moment, in the West Cork village that inspired my second novel, The Music Lesson (which I am pleased to report will be republished in a nice new paperback edition by Three Rivers Press in January).
Because I didn't want to identify the village where we spent our honeymoon in 1976 and have owned a cottage since 1986, I didn't consider mentioning one of the most prominent and identifiable features of Glandore, the Drombeg stone circle. But I regret not setting a scene there. A country mile from my doorstep, the Drombeg stone circle, one of the most intact in all of Ireland, is an uncanny place where a sense of the past looms very large. Ireland has many pasts, from the mysterious culture that built these circles to the maiming hatred that has kept the troubles simmering for nearly a hundred years.
Funny, I came across your post researching information for my West Cork blogs, twitter, etc. I am also an alumna of The New School Freshman Year Program (though '81-'82), got my BA there 10 years later. Now living in Lisavaird!
ReplyDeleteEveryone turns up in West Cork sooner or later.
ReplyDeletePhoto and landscape are truly compelling - they make my hair stand on end.
ReplyDeleteOur cottage is just off to the right, almost in the photo!
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