There was a small yet mighty–and mighty talented–crowd that participated in the inaugural NJ Irish American Writers and Artists (IAW&A) Salon on September 27. This is a new partnership forged between the IAW&A and the Irish American Cultural Institute of Morristown.
The evening kicked off with an oral story from Kathy Callahan, who spun a whimsical tale about how a letter to her hero Bruce Springsteen led to an unforgettable night in the VIP section with fans from Northern Ireland.
Singer/songwriter Patrick Clifford kept the storytelling of the Boss by playing a haunting cover of “Thunder Road,” a tune he says is as strong an Irish immigrant song about busting out as anything else out there. Clifford also debuted “Pole to Pole” a track from his upcoming album “Chance of a Start.” He also read a moving essay about his family and the inspiration of the album cover for his first disc. You can hear songs on the new disc by logging onto his website at www.PatrickClifford.com
Mike Farragher ended the evening with a sneak peek at his new book, the follow-up to the runaway success This Is Your Brain on Shamrocks. Farragher told the tale of how he helped edit a book of poetry and a book of gripes penned by his friends that produced the idea for “Screw U Haikus,” a ribald collection of short poems about things that get his goat. To follow Mike’s antics log onto www.thisisyourbrainonshamrocks.com
We then celebrated the evening at the legendary Hennesy’s Bar in Morristown. Creativity is thirsty work, indeed! Thank you to Carol and Mark Buck from the Cultural Institute, who were such excellent hosts! The Guinness bread and craic were equally mighty!
The Salon sessions allow writers, artists, and playwrights to express themselves in front of a safe and nurturing community. We’d love to see you at the next one!
A number of artists have already reserved their place at the next NJ Salon, which will be on October 25 from 7-9 and takes place on the last Thursday of every month at the Irish American Cultural Institute, just steps away from the NJ Transit Morristown stop at 1 Lackawanna Place. Google map link is
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1302&bih=1188&q=1+lackawanna+plaza+morristown&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89c3a6965ab47cd5:0xc6659651bcb3a34e,1+Lackawanna+Pl,+Morristown,+NJ+07960&gl=us&sa=X&ei=q7dlUMz7OsaB0AHtwIDoDQ&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA
Write On,
Mike Farragher
Ink-Slinger
irishwriter@optonline.net