February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
FLASH FRAMES
Twelve years reporting Belfast
Mark Devenport
Author Mark Devenport’s first overseas assignment as a trainee reporter for the BBC was not too far in miles from his native England. But it was a very different place nevertheless. Devenport arrived in Belfast in 1986 not knowing what to expect. He was to spend 12 years in the North where he would rise to the position of BBC Ireland correspondent. In more recent times, Devenport, a widely respected journalist, has been based in New York. In this memoir, Devenport recounts many of the more offbeat and personal encounters of his time in the North. The result is a refreshing and novel perspective on a story that if often viewed in highly specific and narrowly defined terms by the mass media. From Dufour Editions, Chester Springs, PA 19425, (610) 458-5005. 254 pp. $24.95.
ALBERT HIMSELF
Jeff Bens
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North Carolina native Jeff Bens sets his debut novel in an Irish Catholic community in New Orleans. Albert Fitzmorris is in his mid-30s and works in the French Quarter fish market. Though Albert has found love in the past it was not of the lasting kind in spite of a lasting reminder in the person of a young daughter. All is about to change for Albert, however. Even after the mother of his daughter begins to drift away with another man, Albert sees possible redemption in another woman. But the woman is elusive and Albert’s hopes border on the illusionary as he seeks escape from his past life. Delphinium Books. 192 pp. $13.
THE BLIND STITCH
Greg Delanty
Cork-born poet Greg Delanty spends most of each year in the U.S., where he teaches at St. Michael’s College in Vermont. But his poems in this, his latest collection, are set in three widely dispersed countries: the U.S., Ireland and India. They speak of family, marriage, love and friendship woven into the larger world of public life. Carcanet Press — available from IPG, 814 North Franklin St., Chicago IL 60610, (800) 888-4741. 52 pp. $12.95.
IN CONCERT
Kevin Burke
Kevin Burke fans will quickly embrace this live CD recording by the famous fiddler which offers a dozen tunes played at the Artichoke Concert Room in Portland, Oregon. Tracks include “The Beare Island Reel,” “The Mountain Road” and “Sean Ryan’s Jigs.” Green Linnet Records, 43 Beaver Brook Rd., Danbury CT 06810, (800) 468-6644.