Books

The books Eddie Stack writes are set in the West of Ireland, his birthplace, and America, where he emigrated in 1986. The major influences on his writing come from the storytelling tradition and oral literature of his native County Clare. Literary influences include poet Dylan Thomas, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Marquez, Frank O’Connor, Flannery O’Connor and Bob Dylan. His first book, The West: Stories from Ireland, was originally published in San Francisco and later in Europe. The West has the distinct flavour of County Clare and secured Stack a place in the pantheon of Irish short story writers. He is probably the first Irish writer to publish an e-book: The West was made available in HTML and PDF in 1998.

After his second collection of short stories, Out of the Blue, Eddie Stack published a novel, HEADS, specifically as an e-book. It’s a San Francisco story, a window on bohemia and places people go when they aren’t looking. HEADS as been described as a ‘road novel’ — though there’s very little travel in it; a modern day Merry Pranksters tale; a book that people couldn’t leave down.

Next came Simple Twist of Fate, a ‘flash’ novel written specifically as an e-book. The title is a nod to Bob Dylan and, a precocious young boy narrates the story. It’s a story about a gentry family, and a departure for Stack who normally writes about the plain and the poor people.

The Doolin Book, a non-fiction work about the traditional arts of Doolin in County Clare, will be published in 2012. Eddie Stack spent his formative years here, amongst musicians, singers, dancers and storytellers. As well as features on the artists and their art, The Doolin Book includes photos, illustrations, music, song and stories. Readers will be able to download audio and video featuring Doolin tradition bearers from a special website.