Originally Published in Print, April 2022.
Tolka is one of Ireland’s newest literary journals, with Issue One hitting shelves just last May. It stands out in our bustling literary magazine scene for its dedication to non-fiction and its focus on “formally promiscuous” writing. More on that later. Issue Two arrived in December and features an intriguing mix of non-fiction curiosities from well-known and emerging writers. Niamh Campbell’s remembrance of a strange childhood encounter spins out into reflections on family history, writing, and how others perceive us. Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe takes the controversy in Ennistymon over Aidan Harte’s púca statue as a jumping-off point for a meditation on the grotesque. Roisin Kiberd imagines the thoughts of Jeff Bezos as he blasts off into space.
I met up with Catherine Hearn of Tolka on a blustery Saturday in early February. After having no luck in Shoe Lane on Tara Street (seating area closed due to staff shortages) or Metro Café (jam-packed, with a queue), we finally settled in over lattes in Clement & Pekoe to chat more about setting up a literary journal in the middle of the pandemic, Tolka’s mission, and Ireland’s thriving literary culture.
Hearn is one-third of Tolka’s triumvirate of founding editors, along with Liam Harrison and Seán Hayes. As Hearn describes it, each of them bring relevant skills to the table. Hearn has experience in fundraising and public relations from her work in a music non-profit. As a commissioning editor at Gill, Hayes knows the publishing industry. Harrison is currently wrapping up a PhD at the University of Birmingham in early modernist legacies in contemporary literature. His breadth of reading has been invaluable in identifying writers who might be interested in contributing to Tolka. All three are, of course, passionate about literature.
Tolka was a lockdown baby. When Hearn lived with Hayes in 2017, they enthused about Dublin’s literary journal scene, but a lack of time and experience meant they participated only as eager readers. Hayes met Harrison while both were working at Gill and they connected over the same interest.
Then, in the summer of 2020, Hearn and Hayes were once again scheming and dreaming, this time over the phone. The outbreak of Covid had prompted Hearn to return to Ireland from New York. She was living at home with her mother in Waterford, restless and up for a challenge. She suggested they just go for it and set up their own journal. In Hearn’s words, things “coalesced” from there. Taking advantage of bolstered funding aimed at supporting arts during the pandemic, the trio sought and secured a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council.
The choice of “Tolka” as a title had a personal dimension. When Hearn and Hayes were housemates back in 2017, they lived on the banks of the River Tolka. The word’s resonances also fit the journal’s mission. Hearn suggests its fusion of the local and the international, as a river flowing into the sea, reflects the journal’s interest in both Irish and international literature. She furthermore points out that “Tolka” derives from the Irish word “tolga”, meaning to overflow, which corresponds neatly with Tolka’s aspirations to capture some of the genre-bending “overflow” of Irish writing.
How did the interest in “formally promiscuous” writing come about? Hearn reflects that all three founding editors have a strong interest in “formally weird” literature. She’s quite into poetry, Hayes loves essays, and Harrison reads just about anything. While brainstorming a tagline, “something [for people] to grasp”, Harrison suggested “formally promiscuous” as a knowingly pretentious joke – “I think he just said it in a Whatsapp message.” However, Hearn acknowledges that, pretentiousness aside, it does encompass the kind of writing they are after – writing that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category and might struggle to find a suitable home elsewhere.
Hearn does stress, however, that rather than being interested in formal experimentation as an end in itself, they “have no strict parameters” and are instead interested in how form can be twisted to meet its content in fresh, interesting ways. She points to “Conception” by Brenda Romero, one of Issue Two’s standout contributions, as a perfect example: a piece about the strains and vagaries of undergoing IVF that also happens to be a functional board game. (For her reading at the Issue Two launch, Romero played a portion of the game, with attendees calling dice rolls in the Zoom meeting chat.)
Tolka has also carved out a niche for itself with its focus on non-fiction. Hearn points out that while several magazines and journals publish non-fiction, Tolka’s exclusive focus on non-fiction and openness to non-fiction of any kind gives the journal its unique selling point. It’s a focus that’s in lockstep with certain trends in recent Irish literature. Hearn mentions her admiration for the non-fictional or autofictional work of Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Mark O’Connell, Roisin Kiberd, Claire-Louise Bennett, Emma Dabiri, Sinéad Gleeson, and Rob Doyle. Doyle proved an early supporter of Tolka’s project when the founding editors reached out to him on the basis of their admiration for his autofictional memoir Threshold. Enthusiastic about the prospect of a literary journal specifically for non-fiction, he put his money where his mouth was as a contributor to Issue One.
Hearn paints a positive, heartening picture of Ireland’s literary journal scene. She tells me it’s “such a supportive community”. If she has a question, she can reach out to her fellow editors at The Stinging Fly, gorse, Banshee, or elsewhere. The emphasis is on collaboration, not competition. Enthusiastic support for new and emerging writers has, she suggests, borne fruit in the current strength of Irish literature. The wide range of journals makes publishing more accessible for those trying to break in. And for anyone with their own dreams of setting up a journal, Hearn’s main advice is to take advantage of the money that’s available and “tell people” – get in touch with writers and editors to share your plans and seek support, advice or contributions. Fellow literary types across the water in Britain have expressed their envy at the health of the Irish literary scene – it’s “just brilliant”.
There have, of course, been challenges along the way. While the pandemic provided the impetus for starting the journal, it also consigned the launches of Issues One and Two to Zoom. Better than nothing, but after all the hard work, Hearn admits not getting a chance to celebrate in person was “a bit depressing”. Covid restrictions also meant that, incredibly enough, Hearn only met Harrison in person in late January – after founding and editing two issues of a literary journal together.
Society opening up again has posed its own challenges. Running a journal was simpler when the only other thing everyone had going on was work. The return of other commitments has necessitated a rejigging of responsibilities. Hearn also confesses to fears of second album syndrome after all the hype and enthusiasm around Issue One. However, she’s “really proud” of how Issue Two turned out.
Hearn did her undergraduate degree in English and German at Trinity while Harrison did the M. Phil in Irish Writing. When I ask her thoughts on the strong presence of Trinity alumni in writing and publishing, she very modestly points out that Hayes, who studied English in UCD, is their publishing high-flyer. She does acknowledge the prominent success of female Trinity graduates in writing in the last few years and points to the quality of the teaching of Irish literature at Trinity. The lively society and publications scene can’t hurt either – Hearn herself was travel editor at Trinity Frontier during her time in college.
With Issue Two out in the world, the attention of the team at Tolka has now turned to Issue Three. They are currently reviewing submissions. Without naming names, Hearn confirms a Trinity professor is in the line-up, so watch this space. Covid-willing, they might even manage a much-deserved in-person launch this time. The third issue, due in May, is one to watch out for.
