You didn’t know I had an Irish thing… That must mean I haven’t bragged to you about the time I accompanied one of my professors to the ACIS/CAIS conference in Belfast, where I met Seamus Heaney (shook his hand even!) and got to attend a wonderful reading by Heaney and Michael Longley. As Meg’s research assistant, I got to go with her to the home of Michael and Grainne Yeats to look at some WB Yeats manuscripts they had in their basement (!). This was probably the most thrilling thing I’ve ever done, or am ever likely to do, in my entire life. While no one was looking, I snapped a picture of Yeats’s lapis lazuli (displayed on a chest in a hallway). One of the days we were at the Yeats’s, Anne Yeats was also there. My favorite of the Yeats was Grainne–a spitfire of a septuagenarian with a gorgeous voice. Meg convinced her to sing for us, but I wasn’t lucky enough to get a harp concert. If I had thought I had more experiences like that to look forward to, it may have been more difficult for me to bail on the PhD. But Meg is a second-generation academic, and her in with the Yeats is through her father, who made friends with Michael Yeats while he was editing Yeats’s “Vision Papers.” Alas, I have no in with literary royalty of any sort, and the typical sort of literary “research” (blech, hate the encroachment of [pseudo]science on the humanities) is deadly dull.

I do love Ireland and things Irish. I really want to go back there.

I guess I didn’t know that you had an Irish thing. It’s the story of my life, you know. I have heard Danúu. I’ve got two of their records, in fact, though I see they have a new one out this year, and I haven’t picked that one up yet. Their singer, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (I’d mention that I can pronounce that, but that would be showing off ), is wonderful. She’s only been with them for the last two records—before that, they had a male singer whom I also liked a lot. If you like them, you absolutely have to check out Arcady; I don’t think they’re around anymore, but they recorded two albums with Niamh Parsons singing, and she’s arguably my favorite Irish singer of all. Her solo stuff is also very good, though a little inconsistent—”Blackbirds and Thrushes,” her best album, is pretty close to perfect, though.

Then there’s Solas, whose first two records (the self-titled one and “Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers”) are indispensible. They’re still around, but there are only two people left from the original band. (The two who are left are exceptionally talented, as all the original members were, but as a band, they’re just not what they used to be.) Their original vocalist, Karan Casey, has put out four solo records, and I can unequivocally recommend the first one, “Songlines.” She’s moved away from traditional stuff a little bit recently, which is disappointing, though she still has one of the world’s great voices. Her former bandmate John Doyle—the best rhythm guitarist in the world at the moment—has two solo records out, both mixing trad and more contemporary folk (he does a killer version of Jean Ritchie’s “Blue Diamond Mines” on his first record—not as good as Phyllis Boyens’s classic version, but still great). Not strictly trad, but still highly recommended. He’s got a lovely voice—quiet, but very distinctive.

Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Altan, the sine qua non of Irish traditional bands. Everything they do is great, but their greatest hits record is a good place to start.

I could go on, and will, quite happily (Cherish the Ladies, Patrick Street, Capercaille, Old Blind Dogs, and many more…), but those are my favorites of the purely trad crowd.

Feel free to ramble any old time, btw. I’m avoiding moderately interesting Web work right now myself…at 8:45 at night. Sigh.

I’ll try the Coutnry Girls books. The Irish thing is the reason I think I should like her. Speaking of which, have you heard the band Danú? I just downloaded one of their albums from iTunes and like the instrumental pieces a lot. I’m always a little put off by the vocalists in Irish bands (the ones who play “Irish” music, I mean)–too clean and NPR-sounding, or something. The woman who fronts Danú sounds a lot like Maura O’Connell. Anyway, you might like them. I’ve been searching for some good (traditaion sounding, not like Enya) Irish music lately and not having much luck. Any suggestions?

Sorry to ramble on your blog. Avoiding dull web work…

And believe it or not, I still haven’t read The Bee Season. I’m going to the library tonight, so maybe I’ll finally remember to look for it.

I haven’t read any of your three/five favorite books. I’m curious about the O’Brien trilogy. I think I ought to like her, but I was underwhelmed by the novel I read, Wild Decembers. Do you think this means I just don’t like her, or should I try something else?

I just finished Myla Goldberg’s new novel, Wickett’s Remedy. It’s no Bee Season, but it’s good. I have nothing articulate to say about why.