Brother’s upset forces Galway poet to pulp the first print run of new book

Date Published: {J}

By Darragh McDonagh

A local author and playwright has been forced to have nearly 1,000 copies of her new book pulped after her millionaire brother objected to extracts contained in the text.

A revised version of Hurting God, the latest publication by poet Rita Ann Higgins, is set to hit the shelves on Saturday after her brother insisted that references to him be removed from the book.

The objections raised by her brother, Galway-born businessman Joe Higgins, meant the destruction of more than 900 copies of the new book at a cost of around €3,000 to the publishers.

Ms Higgins said that she had been saddened by the incident, which had come as “a blow” in advance of the official launch of the book in the Town Hall Theatre on Saturday.

“I’m very sad about the whole thing. Saturday should have been a special day for me,” she said.

Her latest book of poetry and prose takes the form of a poetic memoir that draws heavily on personal experiences and the author’s memories of being a child.

She was reading her work at the KGB Bar literary venue in New York recently when she received a call from Mr Higgins, who had obtained an advance copy of Hurting God. “He was very upset and angry,” recalled Ms Higgins. “He said: ‘Are you going to stop this or will I?’

“I understood from what he said that he meant that he would seek an injunction. My publisher, Salmon Publishing, is a small business, so 900 copies had to be pulped at a cost of about €3,000,” she added.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.