LAND OF The Ever Young is a new anthology of writing for children by working class authors - the final volume in a trilogy of working people’s writing from contemporary Ireland.
Land Of The Ever Young, like its predecessors - the poetry anthology, Children of the Nation, and prose anthology, From The Plough To The Stars - have been edited by Galway academic Jenny Farrell [pictured below] and is published by Culture Matters. It also features illustrations by Karen Dietrich.
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The book also features writers and stories of Galway interest. Galway’s Moya Roddy [pictured below] contributed three stories - ‘Seagull’, ‘The New Friend’, and ‘Your House Is On Fire Your Children Will Burn’ - which are linked by themes of children fighting for things they believe in and finding their own selves.
Celia de Fréine, who divides her time between Dublin and Connemara, recalls Ireland in the 1950s and a cross border venture for girls wearing slacks. In addition, her Irish language mnemonic sets out to help remember the colours of the rainbow.
Eileen Keane’s ‘On The Mountain’ is a fond memoir of a small sheep farmer’s relationship with his daughter, teaching her the folklore and songs of North Connemara. The authors present children and adults who confront wrongs, challenge superstition and injustice, who often see further than others around them, and who are determined to make their society a fairer place.
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The project is a pioneering venture that has been fully supported by the Irish trade union movement in recognition of the importance of creativity and the right of the working class to express their culture and their experience of life.
Land of the Ever Young: An Anthology of Working People’s Writing for Children from Contemporary Ireland is available via www.culturematters.org.uk; Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop; and Kenny’s Bookshop.
