Congratulations to Greg Baxter and all involved with the online journal Some Blind Alleys!
Friday night saw the long-anticipated launch of the website, which drew a diverse crowd down one of Dublin's own dark little alleys in Stoneybatter. The venue mirrored the website perfectly; raw and real; a sparse gallery space where the work on the walls spoke for itself.
Highlights of the event included an official opening by Anne Enright, who graciously clambered up onto a large box in her skirt and heels to start the proceedings. Anne praised the quality of the new work she had seen on the site, both written and visual, and shared her insight on what makes a good editor- an individual capable of opening up an intellectual space for a writer to fill.
She was followed by three gripping new pieces, written and read by the winners of the Some Blind Alleys' 2009 Writing Competition in the categories Short Story, Translation and Essay. The Coin Machine by Cathy Sweeney was a hard, uncompromising tale of bare flesh and poverty. The Crooked Hat by Kurt Tucholsky was translated by Nora Butler, who read the gentle piece with equal softness. And finally the essay entitled My Obsession with End Stations by Susan Leahy, wryly exposed the often hollow existence of a person posted abroad. Susan herself began writing in the Beginners' Creative Writing class at the Irish Writers' Centre and is now scribbling her own unique mark on a currently fluid and refreshing Irish writing scene.
The winning pieces can be read on the website: www.someblindalleys.com
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