{"id":9663,"date":"2020-10-02T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=9663"},"modified":"2020-10-02T12:00:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T11:00:28","slug":"cuba-libre-at-home-with-ronan-sheehan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2020\/10\/02\/cuba-libre-at-home-with-ronan-sheehan\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba Libre! At Home with Ronan Sheehan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week Andrea Reynell met renowned Irish man-of-letters Ronan Sheehan<\/a><\/span> in his Dublin home. They discussed his abiding passion for Latin poetry, the challenges and opportunities for young writers and what has inspired him to assemble a volume of translations of Cuban poetry from a range of Irish writers.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was welcomed into a cosy sitting room with a green\/blue sofa, a pale wooden table with chairs, while dozens of photographs and art works adorned the walls. The Libyan Sibyl<\/em> and another painting reminiscent of the great Irish epic, An T\u00e1in B\u00f3 C\u00faailnge <\/i>(The Cattle Raid of Cooley)<\/em> caught my eye. A well-used fireplace lay to my left behind Ronan, as the open door to the back garden let in a cool breeze as we sat at the table.<\/p>\n

A: How did you get your start in writing poetry?<\/p>\n

R: I don’t really write in poetry. I write more prose which I started writing when I was at school and I got interested in literature then. I had two things published when I was sixteen one was a short story in The Irish Press<\/em> which was a big thing in my day. And the other was a poem in a magazine called The Kilkenny Review<\/em>, or something like that. But subsequently I learned to love poetry, but I don\u2019t really write poetry. I can write translations which is a different thing.<\/p>\n

A: I\u2019d be the same myself. I prefer writing prose to poetry. I’ve been doing a few bits and pieces but don\u2019t have anything published. But as long as I enjoy it really. How much do you reckon the Irish literary society has changed since you first started writing?<\/p>\n

R: That’s a good question. I think It’s changed a lot. When I was in my teenage years the nineteen-sixties. I suspect you weren\u2019t born then Andrea.<\/p>\n

A: (laughs) No. Not even close.<\/p>\n

R: For starters there was very little or no publishing houses in Ireland and when The Irish Press <\/em>started to publish stories and poetry that was kind of revolutionary because the only other places were a couple of literary magazines that was all that was there. And consequently, to get something published was a big deal. And now there are a lot of publications and in some way that’s better, in the sense that there’s more chances for people to start off. In other ways I have reservations about it because I often get the sense that there’s too much going out. I hope that doesn’t sound mean spirited.<\/p>\n

A: How important do you think the arts are today?<\/p>\n

R: I think the arts are very important if you like but, for this reason that what you might call the world of culture. It\u2019s really dominated by enormous interests, the high-tech companies like Google and also by Hollywood and big music companies so that the small country and the individuals are really cowed by the sheer power of those things. So, whenever the arts afford individual voices to be heard I think that’s very important for that reason. I mean I could name other reasons as well but that\u2019s one cultural reason as to why I think the arts are very important.<\/p>\n

A: What poets, or writers past or present would have an influence on your work?<\/p>\n

R: Jorge Luis Borges<\/p>\n

(There\u2019s a photo of the late, famous Argentinian writer on top of the book case across from me) Do you know who he is?<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jorge Luis Borges (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A: Yes, I\u2019ve read up on him.<\/p>\n

R: Did you read it from my essay?<\/p>\n

A: I did indeed, and it was very interesting.<\/p>\n

R: Thanks a lot. Sorry I wasn\u2019t looking to drag that out of you!
\nIn school I studied Classics and I studied Latin and English when I went to UCD. While I really loved that engagement with books and so forth and as I got older I realised that there were some books and some writers and even some works that touch you. In a way that is not necessarily quite rational. You don\u2019t look at all the points in Ulysses<\/em> like you’re taught and say: \u201coh that’s a great book.\u201d
\nBut it\u2019s different when something affects you right? So I hope this doesn\u2019t sound pretentious but a writer whom I loved in Latin was\u00a0Catullus who was\u00a0a Latin poet and I did a project about Catullus\u00a0some while ago. And another writer was Tacitus who was a historian so that’s one thing, don\u2019t want to go on forever. Another person that I loved, as I wrote a book of short stories was Borges and it was a thrill for me to meet Borges. And if you read the essay that I did I think I\u2019ll always remember. When I quoted to him something that he’d said about Tacitus. And he said, \u201cTacitus records the crucifixion but does not perceive it\u201d and Borges just looked across and said \u201cDid I write that? I don\u2019t think I\u2019m a very good writer you know, but maybe in the sixty years trying I\u2019m entitled to the odd good line.\u201d<\/p>\n