Day: October 7, 2025

What’s new in The Bottom Drawer this week? Read on ….!

Sing to Me, Nevermore   This week we’re treated to not one but two original songs. First, Mary Hawkshaw’s haunting musical response to Poe’s The Raven — Once Upon a Midnight — draws on the rhythms and shadows of that gothic classic. The synopsis offers a glimpse into the eerie beauty of her composition. Then comes Frank Fahy’s own tribute to friendship, journalism, and the spirit of 1974, when a newspaper called Western Life helped forge a lifelong bond. That memory now lives on in music, echoing across the decades.

History, Fiction, and Futures in Progress   We’re thrilled to feature a new extract from Mary Rose Tobin’s novel The Foundlings (set in the Foundling Hospital, London), a long-matured work that is at last nearing full bloom. Her lyrical prose and emotional clarity continue to impress.   We also glimpse the next chapter of Olga Peters’ forthcoming A Normal Couple — Part Two. This thoughtful and sharp-eyed novel explores love, disappointment, and what counts as “normal” in a world tilted sideways.

Poetry from the People In verse, we welcome: Póilín Brennan’s bilingual offering Le Chéile / Together, a tender celebration of shared listening, myth, and community. Kathleen Phelan, whose gentle nature observations always restore the spirit. And James Conway, who offers a new piece with his signature philosophical lens.

Write-on now has a dedicated submissions email! bd.writeon@gmail.com     Website www.write-on.ie

Here are the synopses of the items currently held in Write-on’s Bottom Drawer — our active store of submitted manuscripts. From this collection, the weekly programme is carefully selected.

Once Upon a Midnight by Mary Hawkshaw

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s iconic poem The Raven, Mary Hawkshaw’s musical interpretation is a haunting and lyrical response to one of literature’s most enduring works. Drawing on Poe’s rhythms and imagery — the “dreary December,” the ghostly presence, and the echo of loss — she transforms the poem into a contemporary soundscape that is both elegy and exploration. With evocative phrases like “ghosts of my last” and “girls on the floor,” her piece moves beyond simple homage to become a powerful meditation on memory, absence, and the echoes that remain when love — or sanity — is lost.

Charlotte Wants an Answer by Olga Peters

In wartime Berlin, a walk by the lake takes a chilling turn for Charlotte and her friend Franzie when they witness an ominous column of people—Jews—being herded through the city under heavy guard. The women’s quiet afternoon is shattered, and Charlotte, a doctor accustomed to the cold logic of dissection, is shocked into urgent questioning. As Charlotte demands answers, the story broadens into a tense and intimate domestic gathering, where old loyalties, wartime propaganda, and fragments of truth collide. How far will Charlotte go to preserve her integrity? And how much do any of them really want to know?

He Was Despised by Mary Rose Tobin

When young Lucy arrives for her usual singing lesson, she expects another quiet Thursday of scales and arpeggios. But fate intervenes — the soprano for the Albert Hall’s Good Friday Messiah has fallen ill, and Lucy is thrust into the spotlight with only days to prepare. Guided by her passionate mentor Professor Montefiore, she must rise to a challenge that could make — or break — her. A story of talent, fear, and transcendence, this moving piece captures the moment a shy girl becomes a star… and perhaps something more.

The Weight of Small Things by Kathleen Phelan

Grief doesn’t always come crashing in — sometimes it lingers in the ordinary. A boiling kettle. The way someone washes fruit. A silence before a laugh. In this gentle, precise meditation, absence is felt through ritual, memory, and the quiet rituals that survive a loss. A poem about what remains — and how, slowly, almost imperceptibly, something like peace begins to grow.

Remembering the Days by Frank Fahy

‘We built a dream with borrowed type / And ink that stained our skin…’ So begins this lyrical tribute to the newspaper adventure that changed everything. In 1974, two young men — Frank Fahy and Tom Curtin — launched Western Life, a new Galway city newspaper born of vision, grit, and friendship. Half a century later, that friendship endures, and this song remembers not just the publication they created, but the bond that carried them through. A heartfelt reflection on legacy, risk, and camaraderie — and a reminder of how the boldness of youth can echo through a lifetime.  

Le Chéile le Póilín Brennan  

Ag meascadh Gaeilge agus Béarla, miotais agus an nua‑aimsearthacht, tugann an dán fileata seo cuireadh dúinn éisteacht go domhain — le crainn, le beacha, le scéalta cois tine, agus lena chéile. Músclaíonn Póilín Brennan mothú cuimhne roinnte agus neart pobail, fréamhaithe sa nádúr agus sa chomhluadar. Le macallaí an tseanchaí agus cogar ón talamh, is ceiliúradh é Le Chéile ar an méid is féidir a chloisteáil — agus a leigheas — nuair a stopaimid le chéile.  

Together by Póilín Brennan

Blending Irish and English, myth and modernity, this lyrical poem invites us to gather in deep listening — to trees, to bees, to firelight stories, and to each other. Póilín Brennan evokes a sense of shared memory and collective strength, rooted in community and the natural world. With echoes of the shanachí and whispers from the land, Le Chéile is a celebration of what can be heard — and healed — when we pause together.    

A Man’s World by James Conway

This short, impressionistic poem mixes painterly abstraction with a punch of working-man defiance. James Conway imagines a canvas pulsing with raw, elemental colours — cerebral greys, bruised reds, and deepest blues — overlaid with tools, sweat, and noise. A meditation on masculinity and creation, the poem reclaims the phrase “It’s a man’s world” not as a boast, but as a textured surface for thought, work, and expression.

The Write-on Story by Write-on Members

This living project is part history, part invitation. The Story of Write-on charts the journey of the group from its earliest days in Galway’s Westside to its vibrant, international membership today — a community united by creativity, encouragement, and shared achievement. But this isn’t just Frank Fahy’s account. It’s a collaborative, evolving ‘book’ — a living archive where every member is invited to add their voice. Whether you joined in person or online, last week or years ago, your story matters. This project gathers those experiences: first impressions, favourite moments, what Write-on has meant to you. The result will be a mosaic of memory and insight — and a welcoming window into Write-on for new and potential members. Published prominently on our website, The Story of Write-on is both a record and a beacon. All are invited to contribute.

MOTM (Mug of the Month) Keywords: WALK and EXERCISE Use one. Use both. Write a sonnet. Write a haiku. Write a single brilliant line on the back of a receipt. Just… write.   Closing Date: 26 October 2025   annemurraypost@yahoo.ie

Genre	Title	Author
Song	Once upon a Midnight	Mary Hawkshaw
Song	Remembering the Days	Frank Fahy
Poem	The Weight of Small Things	Kathleen Phelan
Poem	A Man’s World	James Conway
Poem	Le Chéile/Together	Póilín Brennan
Novel Extract	He was Despised	Mary Rose Tobin
Novel Extract	A Normal Couple, 2	Olga Peters
Website	The Story of Write-on (Living History &  Reflections from our Members)	All Members