Serious Sounds

By John Moriarty

A wonderful walk through the story of Moriarty's childhood growing up on a small farm in north Kerry, and his lifelong engagement with traditional Catholic sacraments, taking as his point of departure Philip Larkin's poem 'Church Going' - a richly meditative essay of extraordinary resonance that begins with a visit to the island of Inis Fallen on Loch Leine: 'People say we live in a time of ritual deprivation. Not so people of my age born into Christian Ireland. From three days' of age I was inducted onto the Christian sacramental road, and that journey I rehearse in this book.' 'The connection between psychic pain and religious ritual in Catholicism is done beautifully. More than any other, this was very personal and profoundly moving.' - Michael Harding John Moriarty is author of Dreamtime (1994), the trilogy Turtle Was Gone a Long Time: Crossing the Kedron (1996), Horsehead Nebula Neighing (1997) and Anaconda Canoe (1998), Nostos, An Autobiography (2001), Invoking Ireland (2005) and Night Journey to Buddh Gaia (2006).

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Lilliput Press
• Release date: Feb 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781843512943

John Moriarty

John Moriarty (1938–2007) was born in Kerry and taught English literature at the University of Manitoba in Canada for six years before returning to Ireland in 1971. His books include Dreamtime (1994); the trilogy Turtle Was Gone a Long Time (1996, 1997 and 1998); Nostos, An Autobiography (2001); Invoking Ireland (2005); Night Journey to Buddh Gaia (2006); What the Curlew Said: Nostos Continued (2007); Serious Sounds (2007); and One Evening in Eden (2007), a boxed CD collection of his talks, stories and poetry.