“Belfast Confetti,” Writers Workshops, and Modern Security

“The subversive half-brick, conveniently hand-sized, is an essential ingredient of the ammunition known as ‘Belfast confetti’, and has been tried and trusted by a generation of rioters.”–Ciaran Carson, “Brick”

What happens when the “real world” gets in the way of creativity? Glenn Patterson happened to be leading a workshop for the Fermanaugh Writers in Enniskellen–while the G8 summit was in town. Patterson’s column Belfast, a Brick, and the G8 Summit is a fascinating reflection on Ciaran Carson’s prose poem “Brick” from Belfast Confetti (1989) as an example of inspiration, and the complications of carrying writing prompts around security personnel braced for protesters.