Read my NYTimes travel article: “Drawn by a Vast Rocky Landscape on Ireland’s West Coast”
This site chronicles my experiences in the Burren,
a stunning limestone landscape on Ireland’s west coast.
My journal entries share how the Burren is influencing my upcoming book, and also introduce you to creative individuals, inspiring places, and the art of wandering—both with the feet and the mind. You’ll also find practical tips for your own creative journey and ways to contribute to the book.
Photo gallery
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Journal entries
A few years ago, while cleaning out my parents’ house, I found a small framed picture of a pub bearing the sign “Curtin’s Roadside Tavern.” I was intrigued because my late mother’s maiden name was Curtin—her father John came to the U.S. in the early 1900s, leaving behind a struggling farm in west Ireland—though I’d never heard anything about a tavern. I looked up the place online and sent an email to the owner, Peter Curtin, who wrote back that he didn’t think we were related, but . . .
After my initial discovery of the Burren, I returned home to New York but couldn’t get the place off my mind. Meanwhile, I continued corresponding with Peter Curtin at the Roadside Tavern in the Burren town of Lisdoonvarna. Peter wanted me to come back and write a book about Tolkien and the Burren. I wasn’t sure about that because A) I’m not a huge Tolkien fan and B) the subject seemed too narrow. But I did want to spend time learning more about the Burren. And so I flew to Dublin, drove west and . . .
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