Table of Contents
WNicole Flattery was born in Kinnegad, County Westmeath, in 1989. She studied drama and film at Trinity College Dublin, followed by an MA in Creative Writing, and won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2017. Her award-winning short story collection Show them a good time was published in 2019 and his writing has appeared in publications such as Biting flyTHE Guardian And London Review of Books. His first novel, nothing special, explores female friendship, fame, and identity in 1960s New York; it is published in pocket book by Bloomsbury on March 28.
1. Location
Lough Owel, County Westmeath
It’s not far from my parents’ house and I often go swimming here with my mother and sister. It’s very beautiful and there is a great feeling of community between the swimmers. I like swimming especially in winter, when it’s cold and it feels like a test of endurance. For a few seconds when you first jump in, you don’t think at all. I wish I could do this every day. I didn’t like growing up in the Irish countryside when I was a teenager – I thought I lacked the excitement and glamour, which I certainly did – but now I really miss it.
2. Film
One from the Heart (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
I just saw this reissue: it was zany, silly and fun but also, probably because it’s Coppola, crazy detailed and sumptuous to look at. It’s about a couple, Frannie (Teri Garr) and Hank (Frederic Forrest), in crisis in Las Vegas. She wants to travel; he wants to settle down. They break up and bounce back with other people. Tom Waits does the soundtrack, and it’s all very stylized and surreal. I watch a lot of old films because I think we can learn from them, but also, more superficially, for clothes. There’s a red dress Garr wears that I can’t stop thinking about. I would gladly take heartbreak if I could have this dress.
3. Television
Love is Blind (Netflix)
This is a reality show whose basic premise is that you meet, fall in love and propose to someone without being seen. All you have are a few through-the-wall conversations where you talk about spirituality, trauma, and what you like to do on the weekends. So you marry them! There have been six seasons of this now, and it’s safe to conclude that love is not blind. It’s fascinating to watch couples emerge and attempt to reconcile their ideas of romantic love with reality. Some of them are also extremely determined: even if it’s clear that they can’t stand the sight of their partner and want nothing to do with him, they marry him anyway. They always say things like, “I can’t wait to go to bed with you and wake up with you in the morning,” as if they’re worried that their partner will leave in the middle of the night, which is exactly the case. what I would do in this situation. I hope they make 100 seasons.
4. Criticism
AS Hamra
I feel like with the loss of Pitchfork and other publications, long-form criticism is dying a bit, which is a terrible, terrifying shame. Personally, I love reading it. It makes the world make sense to me. AS Hamrah’s great and playful book of film criticism The Earth is Dying Streaming is full of insight, wit and voice. You need reviews like this, who understand that what we watch often reflects who we are. It also helps if you’re very funny, which you are. His Oscar roundup, which often only tangentially concerns the films themselves, is still the best article about awards season.
5. Technology
Stupid phones
I don’t see how anyone could spend even an hour in Dublin without seeing the disastrous impact of the tech industry. We sold the city to these companies and made it impossible for anyone to live there. I’m not just talking about homelessness and sky-high rents, I’m also talking about the lack of imagination and sometimes having to drink at prohibitively expensive places called Ye Olde Irish Hardware Shoppe. I have a stupid phone most of the time now. It’s more social and I like talking to strangers. Leaving the house with a stupid phone is amazing. This is what I imagine being on the run to be.
6. Coffee
Lilliput Stores, Stoneybatter, Dublin
I’ve been coming here for years because I worked at Lilliput Press, the publishing house next door, and now it’s only a 10-minute walk from my house. It’s very cozy and they have a great selection of food, pastries and wine. They also sell excellent quality honey, which I am addicted to. This is always my reward after doing yoga. In fact, I spend most of the course thinking about what I’m going to get, which probably doesn’t help me achieve enlightenment. Everyone who works there is very friendly and warm, and it’s definitely worth venturing out of town.