The revolution in Irish literary journals

One of the most frustrating things about trying to break into the writing game is having to listen to the advice of people who have already made it.

They'll tell you to be patient. They’ll tell you that with talent, persistence and a little luck, anyone determined enough will eventually have their day. All of which is fine and may actually be true, though it trivialises for many what can often be incredibly difficult in the moment. Not all of us have the luxury to be persistent, and there are a myriad of reasons why this should be so: Financial pressures, the responsibilities of being a parent, disabilities which take up so much of our time and energy that devoting ourselves wholly to the pursuit of one thing is not only undesirable, it seems nigh on impossible.

What those writers miss, therefore—well-meaning as their advice may be—is that support structures need to be in place to facilitate that necessary persistence. Funding from public bodies is one crucial strand of this. Being able to plug into a network of like-minded artists and writers who are struggling with the same thing is another. But perhaps one that doesn’t get talked about enough is the role of literary magazines; those places we submit to when we’re finally ready to share our writing with other people, which give us the ego-boost we need that we’re on the right track.

To read the full article on rte.ie, click here