Sharing the Wonder of Words
I bring news of readings, but also shine a light on wonderful words, real and imagined.
Readings Roundup
I don't want to keep bombarding you with details of the open mics I'm MCing, but here's a quick summary as a reminder.
Thursday 5 June – Reading at Little Lane Bookshop, Waterford, 7-8pm. To book your place, you can contact Deborah on 0832045116 or speakupwaterford@gmail.com.
Saturday 14 June – Gathering of Writers in the Japanese Gardens, Tramore. Registration is going nicely and you can still register for this gathering on the website.
Successful SpeakEasy
We got another massive crowd at SpeakEasy on Friday 23 May at SpeakEasy. I got to hobnob with our featured poet, Mícheál McCann and he was lovely company, warm and erudite. His understated, heartfelt poetry touched the crowd, and was perfectly complemented by the music of Eoin Dalton.
Photo Description: You can see our featured poet Mícheál McCann on the left hand side of the stage, wearing his trademark dungarees. Billy Fenton, the overall MC for the night, is on the right. Behind them, there are red curtains, and musical notes decorate the ceiling.
A group of writers from West Waterford helped boost the crowd; seven writers from West Waterford Arts Group shared their work. I had a mighty time MCing the open mic, as always.
Henshaw Short Story Competition
The Henshaw Short Story Competition in the UK is accepting entries until 30 June, and you're invited to submit short stories of up to 2,000 words. There's a fee of £6, but the profits from the competition go towards library books for schools.
You pay the fee on the website and then send your story to an email address, cutting out Submittable hassles. Here's the website, where you can find further details and entry requirements.
For seasoned readers of this newsletter, I'm reviving the WordNerd and Grammar Grouch in this edition – here goes.
WordNerd: Bedwrangled
The WordNerd loves unusual words of all kinds, including invented ones. She heard a teacher describe herself as 'bedwrangled' as she reached the end of her teaching year. She presumed the teacher meant to say she was bedraggled, but thinks bedwrangled is a much better description of her state. It conveys the idea that you are being wrangled to the bed with tiredness.
Grammar Grouch: Having the Chats
The Grammar Grouch, meanwhile, likes to pounce on grammatical errors and mangled words. He has long been puzzled by the phrase 'having the chats.' Surely it is not possible to have more than one chat at a time.
But he now believes the phrase carries the implication that you are deep in conversation, or that you are chit-chatting when you should be attending to the matter in hand. Therefore, he has decided to make peace with the phrase, though he has no intention of using it himself.
Great series of events Derbhile. Thanks for info about the Henshaw competition - I'd never heard of it.
I LOVE 'bedwrangled'!!! There are so many possible interpretations it deserves to be a permanent part of the lexicon!
As for 'having the chats', that's what I do every time I walk the dog, there is a regular series of other dog walkers whom I meet and stop to chat with. I come home happy from having had the chats! Although my late lamented dog, Percy, objected to my spending more than three minutes chatting!! The new fellow doesn't mind at all, as long as the other chatterbox admires him!