To Hell and Back at The Thalia Salon

TODAY’S SONG: THE BELLS OF HELL

Hell’s Bells and the The Bells of Hell were a central theme of Tuesday’ night Irish American Writers and Artists’ salon at the Thalia Cafe on Tuesday. Malachy McCourt, one of the owners of the old Greenwich Village saloon Hell’s Bells, told a riotous story of how the name of the saloon was banned from the New York telephone directory and then led the attendees in a chorus of The Bells of Hell. New member David Coles also invoked the spirit of the old saloon, reading from his novel In the Midnight Choir, based on his New York City life in the 1970s, hanging out in two Village saloons, the aforementioned Hell’s Bells and The Lion’s Head. Wonderful story.

John Kearns reminded the audience that his play In the Wilderness will be on stage in early June. John read two St. Patrick’s Day selections.  The first, from his book, Dreams and Dull Realities, was about a young boy’s refusing to wear a “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” button on Saint Patrick’s Day.  The second, a story called “Making a Visit,” described a Paddy’s Day memory of a young woman’s dancing a jig on top of a bar.   

First time presenter Guenevere Donohue read and sang from her new playKiller is My Name. As Guenevere described it, Killer is personal myth, memory as legend, and the mystery of the Marine, poet and spy who was her father. I look forward to this multi-talented woman sharing more of her art. 

Tom Mahon shared a story “Lat Life Happiness,” a love story for seniors, which he noted there are far too few.  Sheila Walsh read from her new play“Mr. Tweedy’s Nieghbors,’ a play about spiritural renewal the Irish-American way.  John Kearns and Sarah Fearon assisted Sheila in the reading. Sarah then provided the evening’s comic relief reading from new comedy notes.  

Mikelle Terson read three poems.  ”So No, We Cannot Be Friends”, a poem about betrayal and soap, “Behind”, which speaks to the depth of story behind “the bones of the brow” of each person we meet in our everday lives, and ”For Those Who Can Hear” which addresses the urgent situation of the African Elephant.

Mikelle also asked the audience to “hear  the calling” by entering her “What Made the Elephant Happy?” writing contest.  Deadline is March 15th, 2012.  The five dollar entrance fee goes to the elephants.

happyelephantcontest.com

Judges are the venerable Malachy McCourt and jazz great, David Amram.  

Maureen Walsh followed with a story “The Enemies of Rose” about an eccentric godmother who enlivens the narrator’s childhood during the Irish-American heyday of 1950′s New York, when St Patrick’s balls were held at midtown hotels and everyone summered at the ‘Irish Riviera,’ also known as  Rockaway Beach. 

Robert Haydon Jones read “My Tawdry Story” a tale about what happens to a highly respected senior citizen from Connecticut when his DNA is a perfect match with semen found at an unsolved rape murder in Miami more than 30 years ago. A riveting story and well read.

Kathy Callahan’s laugh out loud memoir in progress, A Tale of Two Snoring Readers was anything but sleep inducing. She read of those suffering from sleep apnea, discovering how to overcome its significant challenges, the stigmas and complications that effect intimate relationships, daily functioning and emotional health.   

And Kate Vaughan, calling on her substantial Irish wit, read from her novel in progress Shennanigans, which takes place at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Home and shows how even in sad times we can always make the best of it, and know that with God’s help/love anything is possible.  

Great evening enjoyed by a full house. 

The next Irish American Writers and Artists’ salon will be at The Cell theatre, 338 W.23 Street, on March 20, beginning at 7PM.  For more information about the salons or the Irish American Writers and Artists contact Charles Hale at chashale1@yahoo.com

First Salon of 2012, More to Come!

There were a number of references to the experience of war during Tuesday night’s Irish American Writers and Artists’ Salon at the Thalia Cafe. Malachy McCourt gave a powerful reading of “Does it Matter,” a poem written by English poet Siegfried Sassoon, a leading poet during the First World War, and Charles Hale included singer Dinah Shore’s popular World War II hit, “I’ll Be Seeing You” in his presentation, illustrating how music connects him to events, including those he hadn’t personally experienced. 

Kathleen Frazier, one of the salons finest readers, opened the evening with a reading from “Silkie Girl,” the first in a trilogy of historical novels.  ”Silkie Girl” has also been described as, “… the first in a series of intergenerational historical novels about the women in an Irish/Irish American family, their mythologies, and how their love for each other lifts them up.” 

Mark Butler read the Work Overture from John Kearns’s novel in progress, “Worlds.”  The Work Overture is a poetic piece about the Logan family’s making its fortune in the construction business.  An interesting development at the salons has been the way members have called on other members to participate in presenting each other’s work.  This was a prime example of that pleasant development.   

John Kearns a frequent presenter at the Salons read an excerpt from his novel in progress “Worlds” a story about Janey Dougherty’s marrying into the Logan family in the early ’60s.  Janey’s dream of a glamorous entrance to her wedding reception at a hotel on Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square is shattered by her encounter with a homeless man and her sister’s racist response to it. 

Mikelle Terson, a first time presenter and guest of Malachy McCourt, read several poems, including “ME”,  (“I got in a huge fight with myself; I slept on the couch”),  “Poems in my Bed”, a poem about the pesky nocturnal presence of poetic entities, “At the Margin” a poem about the dark night of the soul, “No Footing”, a poem about betrayal (“my legs came off last night and I was doing so well with them”) and “Love that Rattles the Bones”.  

Mikelle also announced that she is hosting a writing contest to help elephants, particularly the African elephant, which is in danger of extinction. Write a poem, short story or song answering the question of “What made the elephant happy?”  There is a $5 entrance fee to support the elephants’ cause. The prize is an 18k gold diamond happy elephant necklace and wildlife photo essay book by Nick Brandt. Malachy McCourt and David Amram are judges. For more information visit www.mikelledesign.com. 

Honor Molloy wanted, in her words, “to start the year off with a bang” so she read Sex in Dublintown, a selection of sex tales from her novel “Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage,” which will be published by Simon and Shuster and released in March.

Charles Hale opened the second half with a multimedia presentation, demonstrating how music, photos and the spoken word connect him to events, specifically World War I and Viet Nam, and define the way he experiences the past.

Alexis Doyle read from a short story in progress called “Search for My Young Father,” an attempt to piece together her father’s earlier life.  Alexis told of listening to tales of her father and her famous literary cousin Liam O’Flaherty while visiting her ancestral home in a tiny village on Ireland’s Aran Island.  This story ended way to soon for me.  I look forward to hearing more of Alexis’ search.  

Following Alexis, new IAW&A member Tom Mahon stepped up to the microphone.  Tom read the first half of his story “Outcasts.” He explained how he’d written the story of a husband and wife two years ago from the husband’s point of view but on rewriting realized that the wife’s ongoing dance with formidable demons really made it her story.  I hope Tom returns and reads the second half of this tale at a future salon. 

Closing out the proceedings, Malachy McCourt treated us to three short pieces. First Malachy read an article a riotous tale of bed bug infestationm which was recently published in Silurian News.  Malachy then read Sassoon’s WWI poem “Does it Matter.  And as he often does, Malachy, along with an able chorus of members and guests, closed the evening with a song, “Mrs. McGrath.” 

The next salon will be at The Cell, located at 338 West 23^rd Street, on January 17th at 7PM.  For more information on joining the Irish American Writers and Artists and presenting at a salon, please contact Charles Hale, at chashale1@yahoo.com