We have invited our writer in residence Colin Hassard to share his book suggestions for this season. Books are a great company and comfort, especially in winter when you just want to curl up on the sofa with a blanket and a cuppa.

You may already know Colin from one of his live performances at the Duncairn (ohhhh, the good old days when we used to have live shows…) and, more recently, for hosting the Duncairn Podcast.

The Duncairn Podcast

Colin is an avid reader…

My relationship with books goes way back to childhood and I’m thankful to my parents for encouraging reading and buying me books. Like a lot of kids, my favourite authors were Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, but I used to read everything from historical stories to football annuals!

… as well as a writer

It was during my teenage years that I wrote my first poem but it wasn’t until I moved to Belfast in the mid-2000’s that I really became focused on it. As you would expect, I read a lot of poetry these days. I think it’s important, as a writer, to read other people’s work – not only for enjoyment and to find inspiration, but also to learn the craft and be aware of what’s happening within the genre. It’s also important to make the time to read. We all lead busy lives and can get wrapped up in jobs and projects – (particularly with stressful deadlines like I have at the moment writing my book!) – but I think taking a quiet moment to relax and read, helps to untangle the brain. And, personally, it allows me to remember why I wanted to be a writer in the first place.

His new book 'Age of the Microwave Dinner' will be published this year by Doire Press and we’ll keep you posted about it. In the meantime, here are Colin’s favourite books and why they are so special to him.

On the Road

By Jack Kerouac

Colin Hassard’s selfie at a Jack Kerouac House

I first read Kerouac’s On the Road as a teenager, which may be the perfect time to read it, as it’s a book of youth, adventure and rebelliousness. It was released in 1957 and is arguably the defining work of that period of counterculture known as the Beat Generation, which also included the great poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. But On the Road really resonated with me and I read through the novel again every few years. When I was in Orlando last year, I actually made a trip – a kind of pilgrimage – to Kerouac’s house in downtown Orlando where he was living when On the Road was published. The house is now a writer’s retreat and there wasn’t much to see, but just to be there and breathe in the air was inspiring.

On Balance

By Sinéad Morrissey

This the first of two poetry collections that I’m recommending. When I recorded some of my favourite poems for the Duncairn Podcast’s Christmas Special, it was only afterwards that I realised I’d missed out the amazing poet, Sinéad Morrissey. This collection, On Balance, was winner of the 2017 Forward Prize, short-listed for the Costa Book Awards and a Poetry Book Society Choice. It’s wonderful the way Sinéad mixes poems about famous figures and great feats of human engineering with her own memories and stories. For aspiring poets like me, it’s also a prime example of form and craft. When I grow up, I hope to be a poet like Sinéad Morrissey!

Poems 1956-1968

By Leonard Cohen

This was one of the first poetry collections I ever bought and I managed to get it for only £2 in Bookfinders, which was a café and second-hand bookshop near Queen’s University. It’s now sadly closed, but Bookfinders was where I attended my first ever poetry recital back in 2009 and was captivated by poetry and the poets. On my day’s off (i.e. when I was on the dole) Bookfinders was my refuge and I purchased many books from there. But none of them mean as much to me as this Leonard Cohen collection. Much like his music, the poems range from hilarious to sinister to poignant to fleeting. This book was the start of my long love-affair with the high priest of pathos.

The Acid House

By Irvine Welsh

Irvine Welsh is most famously known as the writer of Trainspotting, but this short story collection, in my opinion, is his best work. However, having said that, I’m not a big reader of novels as I don’t really have the attention span. I think that’s why I mainly read and write poetry – get in, say what you need to say, and get out again. I didn’t even make it all the way through the Trainspotting novel, but I have seen the film! Anyway, The Acid House features 22 short stories, some of which aren’t for the faint hearted. I tend to read through a selection of the stories every year or so, and Welsh writes such captivating and vivid stories, mainly about people on the fringes of society. I remember when I bought this book, the very elderly gentleman who was serving me picked it up and said, “The Acid House? That looks…er… interesting”. And it sure is.