Between the Lines with Áine : Migration, Belonging, and the Courage to Write

In this Stories and Stanza “Between the Lines” episode, host Abhra interviews writer Áine , an Irish immigrant living on the U.S. East Coast, about how journaling from age 14 evolved into publishing fiction and nonfiction. Áine describes feeling “immigrant shell shock,” finding courage through immigrant literature, and being accepted into a university fiction workshop that revealed how others perceive a writer’s narrative voice. She recounts the shock of her first short story and later nonfiction acceptance, and how her work began moving between Ireland, the U.K., and the U.S., including a first book published in Dublin and partnered with Simon & Schuster. She shares questions she asks before writing memoir, reads a piece from a hybrid poetry/essay collection, discusses inspiration versus discipline, and reflects on migration, identity, listening, and the challenge of writing in a world that values shorter, more entertaining content, ending with encouragement that everyone deserves time to write. Please find her website here: https://www.ainegreaney.com/