NEWS

Presbyterian Welcome, a validated ministry, is a community of congregations and individuals in the New York area. Our mission is to build up and repair the Body of Christ by working for the full inclusion of all disciples, without regard to sexual orientation and gender identity.

I grew up during the 60s and 70s in a small town nestled between the Irish Sea and the Rhinog mountains in Wales. My family have lived in that community for many generations; hard-working, Welsh-speaking, and solidly Presbyterian. The town was a summer holiday resort that had seen better days, but life still seemed spit into two; the three-month-long season and nine months when nothing much happened. Both my parents were second children. When they were growing up education had to be paid for and in poor families it was only the first child who was afforded the op¬portunity. My father was apprenticed to an electrician at 15 and my mother went ‘into service’—working as a maid.

Realizing that I was a homosexual at the age of 11 or 12 wasn’t easy. In the late 1960s in Britain, homosexuality was barely talked about—unless in hushed tones and with distaste. All I knew about homosexuals what I’d read in newspaper reports—about men being arrested for improper behavior, and the word ‘homosexual’ was always accompanied by words like unstable, alcoholic, sinful, sick, crimi¬nal… Through my adolescence I yearned to be different—to ne ‘normal’. All of this yearning was hidden; homosexuality caused me such feelings of shame and guilt that I became intensely secretive.

The clash of religion, culture and sexuality in my sense of identity became intense by the time I was 18 and I suffered depression and an eventual breakdown. As the only alternative to suicide, a journey of more honest self-discovery began.
Thirty years later, Crawling Through Thorns describes that journey—from Wales to California - in the terrain where the powerful forces of sexuality, faith, religion and culture collide. The Welsh Book Council has described the novel in this way:
‘…a book that refuses to be pigeon-holed: it reads like memoir, is presented as fiction (‘but a true story, nevertheless’) and offers a critique of society’s changing attitudes towards the gay community from the 1960s to the present day. It is a brave and often shocking book, whose flashback structure generously softens the pain… Crawling through Thorns is the story not just of a personal quest for honesty and openness, but also of a society having to confront its fears and prejudices. Highlighting the difference between the toxic shame delivered upon the oppressed and the real shame that should be felt by the oppressors, it is a challenging and compulsive read—often harrowing but ultimately uplifting.’

Crawling Through Thorns is now available in the United States and Canada and I trust that it will offer a valuable resource during this time of ‘Conversations’.

John Sam Jones Llandecwyn, Wales. January 2009.

This article first appeared in the Spring Newsletter from Presbyterian Welcome

to view the newsletter please click here

PRESS RELEASE: Fever Across Frontiers: an international success story for Irish fiction

Gerry Feehily, a young Irish writer based in Paris but published in Wales by Carnival Parthian, has just signed a rights deal for his first novel, Fever, with Spanish publishers
El Tercer Nombre, who have been promoted by the Italian rights agency Il Caduceo of Milan.

Set in the fictional Irish seaside resort of Dundrug (Feehily maintains that all likeness to real characters in Dundrug are purely intentional. Fever has attracted attention for its depiction of a weekend in the company of Jerome Maguire, the town’s one gothic punk, communist and poet laureate (self elected). Feehily’s novel was described by cult literary webzine 3:AM as “a stunning debut.”

Feehily got his first publishing deal by catching the Eurostar from Paris to London and turning up at the London Book Fair with a manuscript under his arm and a thick stack of synopses to hand out to publishers. He was attracted to Carnival Parthian for the international aspect to their list with books from Basque, Catalan and German roots. The quality of their Spanish wine at the book fair reception also caught his attention.

Ines Martin Rodrigo of El Tercer Nombre said, “We are very excited about the opportunity of being Gerry Feehily’s publishers in Spain.”

Richard Davies, publisher at Carnival Parthian commented, “Gerry’s novel has a real feel for language and place. He speaks three or four languages, which is always an advantage for a writer who has ambitions to reach out internationally. We think he’s got a fine future as a writer.”

Feehily was born in London and grew up in Ireland. After his studies he lived in Japan, Italy and Spain before settling in Paris. His articles on literature and politics have appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, New Statesman and Spiked. He is currently working on his second novel, Gunk.