The character's name is, of course, similar to a certain beloved poet and the comedic ideas have connections to some of his areas of interest.
But there it ends. This was not an attempt to create an intellectual spoof of the great man, but to find a hook on to which I could hang amusement and entertainment.
A few of the original poems caught the eye of a BBC Radio Ulster producer and, subsequently, I did a couple of spots on a Radio Ulster magazine show. Listener reaction was generally good. The producer said: "Hamish is a great invention." On the flip side, I got a very terse response from someone who commented: "What a waste of time." Both comments might be right!
Now, I have looked back at the "old stuff" and amended several poems, as well as adding more.
The paperback is available here: http://www.feedaread.com/search/books.aspx?keywords=Hamish
The Poems Of Hamish Sheaney : Remastered & Expanded
In 2012, I published a book called Hamish Sheaney: The Nearly-Man of Irish Literature. The book began with this disclaimer: Hamish Sheaney may not exist, so it might have been necessary to invent him. Hamish Sheaney might be Joe Cushnan or Joe Cushnan might be Hamish Sheaney. They are never seen in the same room together, but more often than not they are in the same room. Shirt collar, shoe size, dental records and preference for Mini-Cheddars are purely coincidental. The book is still available from www.feedaread.com and via Amazon Kindle. It contains a short biography of Hamish as well as lists of his failed screenplays, literary influences and proverbial wisdom (whizz dumb) quotations. This updated book is a remastered (regurgitated?) and expanded version that concentrates on the nearly-man’s specific biographical and observational poetry, and it leaves out the “and other funny stuff”. So as not to short-change anyone too much, other poems and witty gems have been discovered in a holdall in Hamish’s shed. They are printed here for the first time. Granny Sheaney also makes an appearance with her terse views on life and poetry. Unlike my other books of fun verse - Juggling Jelly, The Chuckle Files, Boxset (Without A Box), etc, this collection is a bit more adult in parts.
ISBN: 9781785100727
Total Pages: 99
Published: 17 September 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment