As an immigrant writer, I think that I am wired and bound to always keep interrogating and re-defining the concept of a spatial or existential home.
Áine Greaney discusses her short story collection Trespassers, which publishes in March
Two winters ago, during a rare bout of house cleaning, I came across some print literary journals where some kind editors had published some of my single short stories. As I re-read those old stories, I began to notice a connecting thread. Intrigued, I abandoned the house cleaning (yay!) to switch on my laptop to read my more recently published or still-in-draft works. Yep, there was a recurring theme here. In print or digital format, my stories were all about place. Sure, each story plot played out within that story's respective geography. But collectively, these pieces were about how we confront, thrive or survive within our current place or setting.
In retrospect, this shouldn't have surprised me. As an immigrant writer, I think that I am wired and bound to always keep interrogating and re-defining the concept of a spatial or existential home.
Now, two years after my (failed) cleaning stint, I am honored that my story collection, Trespassers and Other Stories has found its real home and its best place with the publisher, authors and poets at Sea Crow Press.
Speaking of home and story, one of my earliest childhood memories is of my live-in grandfather telling me one of his self-spun yarns—complete with the usual cast of talking dogs, goats, witches, chickens and, of course, people. Back then, I wasn't old enough to understand how these stories were more—much more--than a trifecta of plot, characters and a happy-ever-after ending or resolution. As a kid, I didn't see or hear how, in each one of my Granda's tales, the teller, narrator, setting, dialog and characters were all engaged in a big, happy dance.
Later, as a bookish kid, I went all in to join this dance. Also, the more I read, the more I saw how, ultimately, the story on the page is about the reader in the chair—even when the story, the writer and the reader are sitting miles apart from each other. Or, a very kind reader of these stories put it this way: "Webs of connection to Ireland and America cling to each story, but don't overshadow the universality (of this collection)."
Wherever you are today, I hope you join and enjoy Trespassers fictional dances. More, I hope you relish reading these stories even more than I enjoyed writing them.
About Áine Greaney
Born and raised in rural Ireland, Áine Greaney now lives and writes in coastal Massachusetts. In addition to her published books, her short works have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Another Chicago Magazine, The Boston Globe Magazine, The New York Times, Books Ireland, WBUR/NPR and other publications. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and cited in Best American Essays. She designs and leads creative and wellness writing workshops.
