The Hindu : New Delhi News : From the land of Yeats, Beckett and Joyce

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Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008
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From the land of Yeats, Beckett and Joyce

Madhur Tankha

Irish Literature Festival begins in the Capital today

NEW DELHI: Lovers of literature in the Capital now have something to look forward to. The Irish Embassy in association with India Habitat Centre is organising the first “Irish Literature Festival” beginning this Tuesday. Besides introducing many contemporary Irish writers and themes, the over three-week-long festival will showcase the James Joyce and Samuel Beckett anniversary exhibitions that have now travelled to the country’s Capital.

On Tuesday, the curtain-raiser will include a musical performance by renowned opera singer Judith Mok, who will sing songs from James Joyce’s era.

The Irish Ambassador, Kieran Dowling, will inaugurate the festival at India Habitat Centre on Wednesday, with a special event focusing on folklore and Irish writing, including a lecture on “Early Irish Mythology and India” by folklorist, broadcaster and author Daithi O hOgain.

Ambassador Dowling says he is delighted to present Irish literary achievements in the country. “Both Ireland and India have enjoyed a long and historic friendship and it is part of our common heritage that we have both taken an imported colonial language, English, and adapted and embellished it to reflect our own unique cultures and experiences.”

Pointing out that Indians have for decades cherished the works of Joyce, Shaw, Wilde and Yeats, the Irish Ambassador says: “We now wish to expand the breadth and depth of this literary exchange to include more contemporary writers and to introduce present day Indian audiences to Ireland and the Irish imagination.”

Among the highlights of this series of events will be exhibitions on the lives and works of James Joyce and Samuel Beckett; a concert performance of songs associated with Joyce by Judith Mok (at Sri Sathya Sai International Centre on Lodhi Road) and a multi-media presentation “Beckett and the Wake” by photographer John Minihan, famous for his portraits of Samuel Beckett and Diana, Princess of Wales.

On January 17, two of Ireland’s leading novelists, Dermot Bolger and Gerard Donovan, will take the stage. Other events include an evening with young adult fantasy writers Oisin McGann and Conor Kostick on January 24, readings by Irish fiction writers on January 25, a talk by veteran critic and author Anthony Cronin on January 28, and an evening of poetry with major Irish poet Derek Mahon on January 29. The festival will end with an exploration of Irish language writing on January 31.

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