The Incontinent of Royy: A Reading by Professor Daniel Roy Connelly
The John Cabot University Institute for Creative Writing and Literary Translation presented the third event of its Summer Session Reading Series, featuring Professor Daniel Roy Connelly reading from his latest work, The Incontinent of Royy on June 8, 2022.
Daniel Connelly – The Incontinent of Royy
English Professor Lewis Klausner gave the opening remarks and described Professor Connelly as a “walking carnival.” Professor Connelly said that he started writing the short stories on his terrace five years ago. He wrote one story a night for about two and a half months until he had 75, and then moved on to the editing phase. Of the 90 stories he wrote in total, 55 were included in the book. The remaining 35 will be published in another collection in the coming years.
All the stories are set in the continent of Royy, populated by “the worst people you could ever wish to meet.” Professor Connelly writes about frying pans, nuns, traffic lights, and bicycle races, among other things. The prologue, titled “Bang!” describes the creation of the world and of the continent of Royy.
Violence is a recurring theme in the stories, which range from half a page to 2/3 pages long. Each focuses on one character, whose name is also the title of the story. According to the publisher, “people pass by in Daniel R. Connelly’s subversive tales and disappear in each others’ rearview mirrors: it’s a kind of instant ghosting We have become ever more indulgent, ignorant, passive, and opinionated, yet we remain clueless about it all, just like the people of Royy.”
Professor Connelly read eight of his short stories, including the prologue and the epilogue, and a brief Q&A session followed. “These people were riffing off each other, they told me where to go and what to do next. It was quite mysterious,” Professor Connelly said when asked about how he got the inspiration for each story.
Professor, writer, and theater director, Daniel R. Connelly has a Ph.D. in Shakespeare’s Othello and is a multiple prize-winning author of two poetry collections – Extravagant Stranger and Donkey See, Donkey Do – and, most recently, his short story collection, The Incontinent of Royy (Broken Sleep Books, 2022). He has also worked extensively with the English Theatre of Rome, directing, and acting in a number of sold-out shows, the most recent one being NSFW, by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood. Professor Connelly is currently teaching Travel Writing at JCU.
