Sunday 20 April 2008

Trinity Reading Review


I've been to 2 of the 3 Trinity readings.

Tuesday April 1st Derek Mahon, Mary Morrissy and George Szirtes
Introduced by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin

This had a huge turnout. We had to change lecture theatre to fit everyone in.

Derek Mahon, the Belfast poet was the main draw here. He doesn't read much these days, I believe. He read some new stuff and was warm, witty and entertaining. His Collected Poems has been reprinted by Gallery Press.
He was followed by the writer and current Irish Writing Fellow at the Oscar Wilde Centre, Mary Morrissy who read a imaginative but long extract from her creative non-fiction from the point of view of Sean O'Casey's sister.
Then George Szirtes, the political and sometimes humorous Anglo-Hungarian poet with a well known blog.

I didn't make it to the following Tuesday, Sebastian Barry, Poet and Professor in the School of English, the University of St Andrews, Douglas Dunn, and Creative Writing graduate and author of The Mushroom Pickers, Jacqueline McCarrick. Introduced by Deirdre Madden.

Then last Tuesday I went to Anne Enright, Peter Fallon and Bernard O’Donoghue. Introduced by Gerald Dawe.

Peter Fallon poet and publisher started and did a low key reading.
Anne Enright, Ireland's famous, most recent Booker winner read a great short story from her new collection, Talking Pictures. She's a good reader and the voice in the story was very strong, funny, poignant.
Last was Bernard O’Donoghue, a witty Cork poet with great stories/introductions for each poem.

I saw Anne Enright again this weekend in an interview at the Franco-Irish festival in Dublin Castle. I went mainly to experience simultaneous interpretation. The lesson is, incoherence in French can only be translated as incohenrence in English. Ah well.

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