The Troubles We've Seen

I've just taken possession of a box set of essays, themed around the arts in NI and The Troubles. It features names such as Fergal Keane, Frank Ormsby, Patricia Craig and Ciaran Carson. While I haven't gone deeply into the copy yet, it's certainly a challenging idea that takes in architecture, literature and even prison art. I have also authored a volume about popular music and the conflict, some 5000 words about punk rock and showbands, suspect devices and the glimmer of an artistic sunrise. A lot of the significant moments of my life are on those pages and I'm looking forward to a launch at the Ulster Museum in a few day's time. Given that I sat in Frank Ormsby's classroom for a few interesting years, absorbing some of his passion for the written word, it's quite a bonus to find myself in printed proximity to the man.