Constellations
Page 18
To my agent Peter Straus, who took me on based on three essays and has been unwavering in his support.
To Cormac Kinsella – not everyone gets to have a good friend as their publicist.
To the editors who published my essays: Melissa Harrison, Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith of Winter Papers, Claire Hennessy, Eimear Ryan and Laura Jane Cassidy at Banshee, Susan Tomaselli at Gorse, Paul Scraton at Elsewhere and Maeve Mulrennan, who commissioned a version of ‘Panopticon’ for a group exhibition at Galway Arts Centre. I’m particularly grateful to Luke Neima at Granta.
To the Arts Council for a bursary that allowed me a short break from freelance work to focus on writing.
To the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, which offers immersion and headspace to all kinds of artists, and was vital for me.
To people who offered help or advice on everything from dementia to DNA, and other providers of good deeds: Ronan Kavanagh, Aoife McLysaght, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, the V&A Museum, Louise Dredge, Zoë Comyns.
To the good doctors: Professor Patricia Crowley, Dr Miriam Carey and Professor Paul Browne and all who work in haematology and in the Burkitt Unit in St James’ Hospital (please consider donating blood and platelets).
To Anne Enright, for her friendship, wit and encouragement.
To writer friends who offered advice, chats and solace: Lucy Caldwell, Patrick deWitt, Elaine Feeney, Sarah Maria Griffin, Elizabeth Rose Murray, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Liz Nugent, Mark O’Connell, Derek O’Connor, Max Porter and Anakana Schofield.
Special thanks to the way-back-when writers who read my work and encouraged me when I wasn’t writing, or was too afraid to: Colm Keegan, Peter Murphy and June Caldwell. Extra thanks to Siobhán Mannion, the kind of first reader every writer craves.
To my parents, Maura and Joe for their lifelong support, especially during all those hospital appointments; to my wonderful brothers Martin and Colin, and to Claire and Daniel.
To Neva Elliott, the sister I never had, but always wanted – and a best friend beyond equal.
To Iarla and Maebh – my own little stars, I’m so lucky to have you.
And to Stephen Shannon, for so much love, support, encouragement, laughs, music and more than I can ever say.
Permissions acknowledgements
Anne Carson, ‘A Wound Gives Off Its Own Light’, from The Beauty of the Husband.
Nick Cave, from ‘Into My Arms’, published by Mute Song Limited, on The Boatman’s Call, 1997.
Hélène Cixous, from The Laugh of the Medusa, from Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 1, No. 4 (Summer, 1976): University of Chicago Press, pp. 875–93.
Barbara Hepworth, from Sophie Bowness (ed.), Barbara Hepworth: Writings and Conversations, Tate Publishing, 2015. Writings by Barbara Hepworth © Bowness.
Kirstin Hersh, from ‘Hips and Makers’, on Hips and Makers, 1994.
Maggie Nelson, from The Argonauts, Graywolf Press, 2015, and Melville House, 2016.
Emer O’Toole, from Girls Will Be Girls: Dressing Up, Playing Parts and Daring to Act Differently, Orion, 2015.
Jo Spence, from Cancer Shock, courtesy of the Richard Saltoun Gallery, London.
Ocean Vuong, from ‘Immigrant Haibun’, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, Jonathan Cape, 2017.
Constellations
Reflections from life
Sinéad Gleeson is a writer of essays, criticism and fiction. Her writing has appeared in Granta, Winter Papers and Gorse, and a story of hers appears in Being Various: New Irish Short Stories published by Faber in May 2018. She is the editor of three shortstory anthologies, including The Long Gaze Back: an Anthology of Irish Women Writers and The Glass Shore: Short Stories by Women Writers from the North of Ireland, both of which won Best Irish Published Book at the Irish Book Awards. Sinéad has worked as an arts critic and broadcaster and has presented The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1. She lives in Dublin.
First published 2019 by Picador
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