Episode 7: My Love, My Lake, My Forest by Éilis Ní Dhuibhne, read by Aidan Kelly
A budding writer staying at an artist retreat in Finland, falls for a woman there and confronts his future.
‘All McGahern’s writing is closely conscious of place, our connection with the earth, but it’s not all set in the Irish countryside. McGahern lived in Spain, England of course, and for a time in Finland, and he wrote about these places occasionally. I made up a story about a character who is a bit like McGahern. Since I can’t write about a place I have never been, and since I love the details of places, I located it in the only part of Finland I have ever spent any time in, Joutsa, a little region in central Finland, a place full of lakes, something it has in common with Leitrim. A lot of McGahern’s writing is about leave taking. We are all animals, creatures of the earth. Mine is a love story with a bit of a bite, based on my possibly too judgmental stance on McGahern’s sometime attitude to women – he was a creature of the earth but also, like all of us, a creature of his time. In his focus on love and sex – I’m thinking, say, of the great story, My Love My Umbrella. The title of my story My Love, My Lake, My Forest echoes it.’ Éilis Ní Dhuibhne
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne has published numerous collections of short stories, novels, books for children, plays and non-fiction work. She publishes in English and in Irish. Awards include Arts Council Bursaries in Literature, Listowel Writers Week Poetry Award, Bisto Book of the Year Awards, Stewart Parker Playwright’s Award and The Butler Award for Prose (Irish American Cultural Institute)
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New fiction is an integral strand of contemporary Irish cultural expression. SPOKEN STORIES is an RTÉ concept for short fiction to be commissioned and produced under a common theme or thread, and through which the listener is treated to readings of them by invited actors, cast to best serve the stories and audiences.
SPOKEN STORIES 2 Creatures of the Earth, a collection of 12 stories, is a evolvement of the SPOKEN STORIES concept originated by Clíodhna Ní Anluain, who is also its producer. It is being made with support from the BAI and RTÉ.
All stories can be enjoyed by audiences on their first broadcasts from 7.30-8pm pm starting on Sunday 16 October 2022 on RTÉ Radio 1. Colm Ó Ceallacháin is the Irish language story commissioned writer. His story is also being translated into English to be available as a text and as a podcast, following its initial radio broadcast in Irish during the series. Evgeny Shtorn is the contributing writer whose writing language is neither English nor Irish. His story Nessum Dorma will be translated into Russian as part of this project and also available as a text and podcast. The 12 stories will be available as podcasts and also available on https://www.rte.ie/culture/
Among the writers are winners and short-listed writers of many esteemed literary awards including The Booker Prize, An Post Irish Book Awards, the Costa Prize, The Dublin Literary Award, Oireachtas na Gaeilge, and authors whose work has been awarded Irish short story of the Year, as well as numerous other international awards and short-listings, along with major national and international publishing contracts.
Their stories originate from a consideration of Creature of the Earth the title of a story by John McGahern, also the title of his final short story to be published in his lifetime. They illustrate how an idea or concept can be so variously and engagingly interpreted while collectively shedding light on us and our world. The commissions are shared across geographies, identities, those whose first language is neither English nor Irish as well as an Irish language writer. The themes, geographies, styles, locations, as well as the voices of the stories are as varied as the writers involved.
Readers of SPOKEN SPORIES 2: Creatures of the Earth include celebrated actors of stage and screen include Charlene McKenna, Daryl McKenna, Stephen O’Leary, Emma Dargan-Reid and Pat Shortt specially selected to add another layer of interpretation to these stories.