The Highs and Lows of a Modern Troubadour

Part 2

Many years ago as a fledgling writer, I was Playwright in Residence for London/Derry City. TheTroubles as they are euphemistically called were still extant, and the city was visibly and palpably divided. Reading from my new book in one of the libraries, and later on in a theatre across the river, The Waterside, was a homecoming of sorts. The wounds of the past had found their way onto the written page in some of the readings I heard on the last day of The Waterside Theatre's existence. Funding pressures have forced it to close its doors, so it was most special to read from  'The Mermelf-A Fable for Our Times ' on such a momentous date. The Guild Hall had John Hume's Nobel Peace Medal on display, and as I walked into the hall where I had performed poems and stories as a child contestant, a deep sense of peace and warmth enveloped me. My book is dedicated to my father, and he would drive me across the border to perform on those polished boards.. The photograph the security guard took of me holding my book is a precious memory..

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