Serious Sounds
By: John Moriarty
Publication Date: April 2007
€10.00
Serious Sounds by John Moriarty
A wonderful walk through the story of Moriarty’s childhood growing up on a small farm in north Kerry, and his lifelong engagement with traditional Catholic sacraments, taking as his point of departure Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Church Going’ – a richly meditative essay of extraordinary resonance that begins with a visit to the island of Inis Fallen on Loch Leine:
‘People say we live in a time of ritual deprivation. Not so people of my age born into Christian Ireland. From three days’ of age I was inducted onto the Christian sacramental road, and that journey I rehearse in this book.’
‘The connection between psychic pain and religious ritual in Catholicism is done beautifully. More than any other, this was very personal and profoundly moving.’ – Michael Harding
‘His words reflect the concepts with his extraordinary gift for feeling and knowing the landscape.’ – Medium
‘Such a broad sweep of literature ad interweaving of stories and content, plus an eye for nature that helps the rest of us to see differently are just some of the gifts of [John Moriarty].’ – Customer review
‘If you’re looking for a deeply humane story of a personal spiritual journey set in the context of the myriad journeys undertaken by others before the author’s own, look here.’ – Customer review
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Moriarty was born in Kerry on 2 February 1938 and died there on 1 June 2007. He was educated at St Michael’s College, Listowel, and University College Dublin. He taught English literature at the University of Manitoba in Canada for six years, before returning to Ireland in 1971. His books include Dreamtime (1994); the trilogy Turtle Was Gone a Long Time: Crossing the Kedron (1996), Horsehead Nebula Neighing (1997) and Anaconda Canoe (1998); Nostos, An Autobiography (2001); Invoking Ireland (2005); Night Journey to Buddh Gaia(2006); Serious Sounds (2007); and One Evening in Eden (2007), a boxed CD collection of his talks, stories and poetry.
Also available as an ebook
| ISBN | 9781843510970 |
|---|
| Weight | 0.25 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 210 × 135 mm |
| Publication Date | April 2007 |
| Format | Paperback, 64pp |
Lilliput Press –
“A poetically written spiritual journey.” MARIA D
Lilliput Press –
“I enjoyed this so much I immediately went for two more by this author. His unique use of language and myths and poetry left me delighted. Such a broad sweep of literature ad interweaving of stories and content, plus an eye for nature that helps the rest of us to see differently are just some of the gifts of your man.” ANNELA
Lilliput Press –
“An idiosyncratic, wonderful book.
Moriarty’s unusual style will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
If you’re looking for an instructive religious textbook, best look elsewhere.
If you’re looking for a deeply humane story of a personal spiritual journey set in the context of the myriad journeys undertaken by others before the author’s own, look here.”
Lilliput Press –
“John Moriarty led a hard but courageous life seeking a true spiritual vision. To some he may have seemed just another wild crazy man staring at the stars, but to me what he had to say has the ring of hard won truth.
Serious Sounds tells of his own spiritual journey through the Christian Sacraments, all the way from birth and baptism to death and the last rites. He draws on memories of his childhood in County Kerry in Ireland where the sacraments for many were the centre of everyday life.
But this is not another backward looking conservative defence of the Catholic Church. John Moriarty was passionate about searching deep down into the inner realities of life, of creation, of our human existence on this planet floating in a seemingly infinite universe. In his journey through the sacraments he draws on his profound knowledge not only of Christianity but also of the deep wisdom of many spiritual/mythical traditions throughout the world.” TOBOR