Winter Papers 6: A tradition that does not fade with the light

Winter Papers 6 was published by Curlew Editions on Thursday 12th November. Now in its fifth consecutive year, Winter Papers brings together contributors from across Ireland into one complete book that boasts fiction; non-fiction; photography; poetry; and visual art, along with in-conversation pieces on writing, film, and craft interviews.Unlike previous editions, Winter Paper 6 was launched virtually this year at the Dublin Book Festival by co-editor Kevin Barry who was joined by a few of the many contributors to the volume; Roisin Kiberd, Tim McGabhann and Kerri Ní Dochartaigh. Nearly 300 people logged in to attend the launch and watch the dialogue and conversation between the four novelists, each with incredibly different styles of writing.Joining the call from all over the world, the Zoom launch brought these authors together to talk casually and perform readings from their own work. Kiberd began the evening with an excerpt from her piece ‘Life Force Frequencies’ which explored the concept of the internet as a physical element; how we depend on it; and is it healthy during this time of lockdown. As information technology becomes an evermore present part of our lives, how has the intense presence of the online world affected humans’ perception of the world?MacGhabhann’s contribution, titled in Spanish, explored an obviously new experience to the narrator as the piece describes the experience of disengaging from drugs and alcohol all against the backdrop of Mexico City. Quoted at the beginning of MacGabhann’s reading was a line from the novel Victor Sedges: Memoirs of a Revolutionary, “The dead are very close to the living and I do not see them separated by some frontier” a poignant moment of the evening considering our place in history at the moment. Kerri Ní Dochartaigh contributed an excerpt of her piece from Winter Papers 6 ‘Thin Places’. A deeply personal piece, it speaks about an individual’s experience as they personally reflect on what is happening in the world around them. The forensic nature of the piece speaks to the nature of the artistic form of humanity.Self-described as Ireland’s Annual Arts Anthology, Winter Papers 6 offers a snapshot into the minds of artists across Ireland and the work that they carry out. Many authors in today’s sphere of literature found their genesis in Winter Papers; Sally Rooney, author of Normal People and Conversations with Friends began her career in the first volume of Winter Papers back in 2015. Published, edited, and designed in Ireland along with being supported by the Arts Council, Winter Papers 6 can be found in all good bookshops across Ireland. The entire collection of Winter Papers can be purchased at winterpapers.com.Winter Papers 6 was edited by authors Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith.