Sunday, May 06, 2007

Peig

"Peig" was a book that was beaten into us when we were school kids. It was part of the school program from which there was no escape. Harsh rural Ireland from the old days. Poverty, piety, grim tales of life on the west of the country. An elderly woman, Peig Sayers, bent over with age, covered with a black shawl, recounting stories in her life, dictated because of illiteracy to the Irish Folklore Commission. They gathered stories so they wouldn't be lost. Harsh life on the Blasket Islands, off the west coast of my country. This book was the staple for anyone growing up around my age.
Can't say it was fun. And this was the book they were trying to teach the Irish language from and inspire a new generation.
How things have changed. Now everytime I go back, thankfully, I see the language growing again.



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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hah. In my 5th grade English class, we had a book full of depressing stories about cancer and divorce and such. The cover was purple, and had a picture of a sad-faced kid staring bleakly out a window. The title was "Stories to Enjoy". ;-)

Unknown said...

mysterious lovely design!

ConĂ¡nn said...

Peig is possibly the only book in the world studied for a year by millions of kids who come away knowing less then they did when they started.
It was this master piece that inspired me; while hearing of the death at sea of her 18th son I wiped the condensation, influenza and hair grease from the rain soaked window and thought.

I am going to leave this god forsaken rock someday

ohmyalikins said...

lovely, just lovely :)

justinpatrickparpan said...

Beautiful work Donnachada.

Scarab’ee said...

very nice work ...

donnachada said...

Hey Cassidy, sounds like you had about as much fun as I did.

Thanks Alina.

Haha Conann, it's a nice rock though. Got to give you a buzz soon.

Cheers Alikins, glad you like it.

Hey Justin, you're too kind.

Thanks Opi.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful design!!!Love the languages that your lines made between them