Solstice Stories
Solstice Stories feature creative collaborations between contemporary writers along with a translator and/or visual artist at least one of whom is from a background traditionally underrepresented in Irish literature and the arts. It seeks to stimulate conversations and inspire hope by reconnecting us with our imaginations and bringing people and communities together, particularly following this time of increased distance and isolation. The series provides a unique developmental space to foster collaboration of this nature, with creativity and inclusiveness at its heart.
Solstice Stories is designed to be a celebration of the small, the brilliant, and the beautiful. Skein Press will publish two of these bespoke books annually to mark the transformation, within and without, occurring on the solstice/equinox dates each year.
The Book of Trivialities
The third publication in Solstice Stories is The Book of Trivialities, a unique bilingual book which reflects the collaborative and creative process of writers and translators working across cultures. In a series of evocative vignettes, celebrated Iraqi poet Majed Mujed lyrically traverses the fraught landscapes of beauty, longing and resistance in a country at war. The Book of Trivialities, originally written in the poet’s native Arabic, is beautifully rendered into English by award-winning translator Kareem James Abu-Zeid. Intricately fusing political and personal histories, these powerful lyric verses speak to the universal, undying quest for freedom that knows no borders or bounds. A profound, powerful sequence of verse from a poet who once lived through the heart of a revolution and now lives for the revolutionary heart of love.
The Book of Trivialities is available to purchase through our shop.
Weave
The second publication in Solstice Stories, Weave is a collaboration between writers Deirdre Sullivan and Oein DeBhairduin, ink brush artist Yingge Xu and bookmaker Éilís Murphy of Folded Leaf. Weave explores the collaborating artists’ shared passion for storytelling, folklore and ritual across cultures. Encompassing eight stories inspired by the eight festivals in the wheel of the year, this book illuminates our experiences and traverses our fears, intertwining older threads with contemporary spaces. Designed by artist and bookbinder Éilís Murphy in a tête-bêche format, this unique and tactile book is exquisitely illustrated.
Weave is available to purchase through our shop.
Waking Light
The first publication in Solstice Stories is by writers Mícheál McCann and Kerri ní Dochartaigh in collaboration with photographer Michelle Moloney. Through poetry, imagery and lyric fragments, Waking Light seeks to honour the small things, the seeds of beginnings and endings, and the search for places where we find ourselves and each other. Recognising that events like the solstice and other transformative natural cycles both ground and elevate us, Waking Light is a hymn that sings of the shift in the light – the constant source of life – amidst the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. Filled with hope and elegy, these evocative reflections offer a measure of grace, solace and renewal. This limited edition of 300 beautiful accordion books is designed and handmade by artist and bookbinder Éilís Murphy of Folded Leaf.
Waking Light is available to purchase through our shop.
Skein Press is grateful for the support of our partner organisations in making the Solstice Stories series possible including the Arts Council of Ireland / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Museum of Literature Ireland, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, Dublin City Council, Cill Rialaig Arts Centre and Holy Show.