Neil McCarthy Poetry

May 4th

Why had I never heard of Simon Rich? Why on earth would someone not want to keep his book "Free range chickens" and leave it for an Irish man to pick up for 50 cents in a second hand store in Silver Lake, LA? Whoever you are, thank you, but you're an idiot.

Yes, there may not be a whole lot to write about at this point in time, but the sheer joy of picking through the bookstores here (LA) as well as flitting through the poetry magazines in their brazen abundance almost makes the winter in Vienna seem worthwhile; as if this free time is what's owed.

I will be back in Galway for the summer, and hope to bump into as many familiar faces as Galway can supply. Watch out for some poetry/music events posted here. I have a plan and Stephen Murray's arm is twisting.
Best
NM

April 13th

Friday it is. But being unsuperstitious, it´s like any other Friday. This is my last week in Vienna after almost 4 years. Thanks to all the support in this time. Who knows when I´ll be back. I will be in Ireland for the summer and look forward to meeting some new and familiar faces. In the meantime, check out or get hold of the latest edition of Pilvax - journal/review based out of Budapest.

NM

March 6th

A big thanks to all you who came along to the gigs in Budapest and Vienna recently. It was great and always is great to see some familiar as well as new faces. I was dleighted to have had the opportunity to introduce Ultan Conlon to the two Venues (Treehugger Dan´s and Verein 08), as well as be on the same bill as Bryan Benner. I hope you get to see more of them over these parts in the coming future. Dominik Nostitz also joined us in Budapest and nearly stole the show with his acclaimed and always witty musical improv!
The CD we recorded is now in the mixing stages... so stay tuned for news on that!
Best
NM

KPFK Radio Interview with Lois P. Jones
http://www.timothy-green.org/blog/neil-mccarthy/

My new "Fictionaut" page!: http://www.fictionaut.com/users/neil-mccarthy

Jan 27th

Last Jan 16th I had the great pleasure of being a guest reader for the book launch of the two books listed below- it was a great night - packed house, but I was disappointed with the Austrian students' ability to polish off the free booze provided by Prof. Huber! Still, Siobhan MacMahon was a delight to listen to perform, and from what I have read so far, Julia Novak is very much staking a claim for being a consultant on spoken word. Do look at these books!

Losada Friend, María; Tejedor Cabrera, José María; Estévez-Saá, José; Huber, Werner (eds.): Dreaming the Future - New Horizons / Old Barriers in 21st-Century Ireland
Irish Studies in Europe 3. Trier: WVT Trier
ISBN 978-3-86821-327-0, 124pp., € 18.00 (2011)

Novak, Julia:
Live Poetry: An Integrated Approach to Poetry in Performance. Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft 153. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi
ISBN: 978-90-420-3405-1, 271pp., € 26.00 (2011)

_________________________________________________________
December 31st.

Wishing you all a great start to the New Year. I hope it starts in mighty fine fashion.

Do check in again soon. I am reading in the University of Vienna on January 16th as part of Julia Novak's book launch. I haven't got my hands on her book yet but as far as I can tell it takes a look at the role of spoken word and performance in poetry.

Also, in February, a few gigs will take place. I recently had the good fortune of meeting with a Florida-born, California-schooled, Scotland-weathered opera singer by the name of Bryan Benner. He's also a damn fine folk musician. He, myself, and the very talented Mr. Ultan Conlon from Ireland will be doing a few shows in Budapest and Vienna late Feb. Ultan has just been included on a new John Martyn tribute album alongside the likes of Beck, The Swell Season, David Grey, Snow Patrol et al. But by God he holds his own, fair play. Watch this space. www.ultanconlon.com and www.bryanbenner.com

A big thanks to Dominik and the crew in Verein for hosting me in December. The Laden is always a great night out. I plan on leaving Vienna sometime this year and we are trying to get a live recording done there. A February swansong perhaps? ... www.verein08.at