First Graft Podcast

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Join me as I chat with Rónán about his novel, music, silence, making meaning, translation, writing and the wild creativity of family lexicons and fibs.
Read this book!
https://www.bluemoosebooks.com/books/leonard-and-hungry-paul

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In this chapter I talk about class, writing difficult, unlikeable characters and process.
In Ketchup I chat about:
Olivia Sudjic's book, Exposure
Dead Ink's collection of essays, Know Your Place
And
The TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend.
If you have any suggestions for my character's name, give me a shout on twitter or the First Graft facebook page!

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We're back.
Join me while I explore the hard graft of creating the work we all love. I'll be talking to writers, artists, musicians and film makers about what inspires and drives them, what gets in the way and how they overcome obstacles.

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In this episode I talk to filmmaker and musician, Luke Seomore, about finding your own style as an artist, collaboration, falling in love with image and our mutual love for the Werner Herzog film, Stroszek.
Luke Seomore is an award winning filmmaker whose thought-provoking work spans commercials, features, documentaries and art installations. Working alongside his directing partner Joseph Bull, their debut fictional feature, BLOOD CELLS premiered at Venice Film Festival. It was released by Picturehouse following its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Michael Powell Award. A hypnotic road movie that offers a distinctive look at contemporary Britain, the drama found wide critical acclaim following its release.
Their previous film, the feature documentary ISOLATION (about the experiences of ex-soldiers, seen through the eyes of paratrooper turned photographer, Stuart Griffiths), premiered at Edinburgh and was described by the Guardian as "a beautifully attuned piece of work." Luke composes their music and soundtracks under the guise BLESSED ARE THE HEARTS THAT BEND, and released his debut album through Berlin label Vaagner in 2020. He has performed live scores to their lauded feature documentary ISOLATION in a series of sold-out shows at venues including the Roundhouse and the Barbican in London.
Blessed Are the Hearts That Bend's latest album is 'A gentle death / a sudden birth' released in December 2024.
https://www.unit9.com/director/luke-and-joseph
https://www.instagram.com/lukeseomore/
https://lukeseomore.bandcamp.com
https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-stroszek-1977-online

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In this episode I talk to Cauvery about self doubt, claiming your voice, and the importance of naming in finding your characters.

Born in India, Cauvery Madhavan moved to Ireland 38 years ago and has been in love with the country ever since. Her books Paddy Indian and The Uncoupling were published to critical acclaim. Her last novel, The Tainted, was chosen by Laureate Sebastian Barry for his Laureate Picks 2020. It was one of An Post Irish Book Awards’ Top Summer Reads. The book was chosen by The Times for their list of top 40 Historical Fiction novels and won the runner-up prize for the SAHR Prize for Military Fiction. Cauvery was an Ambassador for the Play It Forward Fellowship and served as a judge for the Irish Novel Fair 2022. Her new book, The Inheritance, has been widely hailed as a sumptous, moving evocation of landscape, history and the human spirit. A very keen golfer and cook, she has three children and lives with her husband in County Kildare.

https://cauverymadhavan.com