Irish American Writers & Artists
Special Publication Showcase
June 6, 2023, at Irish Arts Center
On June 6, 2023, IAW&A held a special showcase of members who have had recent publications. Despite the smoky skies (thanks to Canadian wildfires), a robust crowd gathered at IAC’s Devlin Café. We were able to record the readings, with the help of Cody Kostro working the video camera.
The evening kicked off with the evening’s musician, Erin Hall, accompanied by her husband Gabe Shuford. Following their opening song, host and IAW&A VP Brendan Costello Jr. gave a brief introduction.
(Bios and links for the presenters are below the embedded videos.)
Anthony Murphy read from his novel Shiftless and a short piece from his new collection And Other Days of Nothing Much.
Poet Patricia Brody read selections from her new collection, My Blazing World.
Philadelphia Author Charley Heenan spoke about the social and political issues that are covered in her debut novel, Danny’s Boys.
Erin Hall rounded out the first act with two more songs….
After a brief intermission, Joseph Goodrich delivered an animated reading from his 2022 novel The Paris Manuscript.
Former IAW&A President and accomplished novelist and film producer Mary Pat Kelly talked about her latest book, concerning her lifelong friendship with the acclaimed director Martin Scorsese.
Erin Hall closed the evening with another of her wonderful original songs.
See below for bios and links to all of the evening’s presenters.
Anthony Murphy (And Other Days of Nothing Much; SHIFTLESS)
Born in 1970 in Burton-upon-Trent, Anthony C. Murphy grew up in Lancashire. He has had many jobs, a few dogs, and three children. He has worked and performed at spoken word events in the UK, and the USA. SHIFTLESS is his first novel. He currently lives in Yonkers, New York.
Patricia Brody (My Blazing World) My Blazing World is PATRICIA BRODY’s second collection from Salmon Poetry. Her other books are American Desire (New Women’s Voices Award, Finishing Line, 2009) and Dangerous To Know (Salmon, 2013). Brody has an MSW (Columbia) and an MA of English Lit and Poetry (City College) where her mentors included Marilyn Hacker and Marie Ponsot. She taught English and American Literature at Boricua College in Washington Heights, and practiced as a psychotherapist for 30 years in NYC. She lives with her artist- photographer husband Tom Kostro and three vocal felines, 20 miles north of the city.
Two sonnets in the new book, each called “Blue Hour,” won recent prizes from UK competitions. Brody’s poems and photographs have appeared in many print & online journals, and anthologies from Artemis, Barrow Street, BigCityLit, Bright Hills: 25 Years, Crosswinds, Glint, The Thomas Hardy Review, Levure Litteraire, Orbis, Raintown Review, Fire and Rain: Eco- Poetry of California, Junctures (NZ), Mom Egg Review, Moria, Paris Review, Western Humanities Review and others.
My Blazing World is available from Salmon Poetry
Charley Heenan (Danny’s Boys) Charley Heenan has delivered newspapers, waited tables, tended bar, analyzed logistics for the military, managed a restaurant, worked infinance, and knocked on doors for political campaigns. A life-long resident of the Philadelphia area and huge Philadelphia sports fan, the St. Joseph’s University graduate now writes full-time.
Joseph Goodrich (The Paris Manuscript) Joseph Goodrich has been described by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine as “one of the most versatile writers in the mystery field.” An Edgar Award-winning playwright, his work has been produced across the United States as well as in Canada, China, and Australia.
His novel The Paris Manuscript was published in 2022, and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Scene and Crimespree. An active member of Mystery Writers of America, he is an alumnus of New Dramatists and a former Calderwood Fellow at MacDowell.
Mary Pat Kelly (Martin Scorsese: A Journey) Mary Pat Kelly is the best selling author of Galway Bay, the first in a trilogy of Irish American historical fiction that includes Of Irish Blood and Irish Above All. She has published another novel, Special Intentions, as well as five nonfiction books. She wrote and directed the critically acclaimed feature film, Proud, starring Stephen Rea and Ossie Davis as well as a series of award-winning documentaries for PBS. She worked on the television shows Good Morning, America and Saturday Night Live and was a screenwriter for both Paramount and Columbia Pictures.
Irish America magazine twice named her one of the top 100 Irish Americans as well as one of the top global Irish and placed her in the inaugural class of the top 50 Power Women. She graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, attended NYU Film School and received a PhD from the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also a former president of Irish American Writers & Artists.
Born and raised in Chicago, she lives on New York’s Upper West Side with her husband, web developer Martin Sheerin, from County Tyrone.
To learn more please visit Mary Pat’s website
Click here to order Martin Scorsese: A Journey
Erin Hall (Great Blue)
New York City based (and Boise born and raised) Erin Hall has been sashaying the city streets for more than a decade; performing frequently in music venues, comedy shows, and independently releasing two albums under the name Erin and Her Cello — though she now goes by Erin Hall. She has been featured on WNYC’s New Sounds, Broad City Live, and has opened for the Portland Cello Project, among others.
Erin Hall’s latest album, Great Blue (self-released 2019), defies easy categorization, jumping from latin, funk, jazz and blues, to French pop. Her interest in French culture came from living in Belgium for a year on a Rotary Exchange scholarship. Her lyrics, whether in French or English, tell stories about the ordinary details of
city life, conquering the monotony of a nine to five job, and discovering the beauty of nature in unexpected places — like the pond in Central Parkwhere she spots the majestic Great Blue Heron.