First off: I’d like to say that my time as a poet in Ireland has been inevitably touched by the death of Seamus Heaney, who was such a vital part of the literary and artistic culture of Ireland and also one of the most important poets in my own writing journey. I’ll soon be posting a tribute blog for Seamus, who I had the good fortune of meeting last year, so keep an eye out for that.
The end of art is peace.
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Today E and I spend the day in Tralee. We are leaving just before the start of the Rose of Tralee festival, and the first thing we see when Brigid drops us off in town in a non-functional ferris wheel being erected in the center of the town. The sites we want to see in Tralee include the main cathedral (dating back to the 1800s) and two other churches. We stop by the churches, enjoying the nice weather outside and the quiet of candle, marble, and stained glass inside. I think back to the years I spent studying art history and find myself mentally labeling the different parts of the cathedral: nave, transept, vault, Basilica style, Gothic style, etc.
E and I continue discussing art history as we eat lunch in a rose garden. The inscriptions that mark the roses are gone, faded away, and as we picnic beneath a tree we are greeted by a stranger’s dog.
Sara Daniele Rivera 