TWO 80th birthdays are due to be marked at the Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway this week – that of playwright Brian Friel and of publishers Faber and Faber.
The week-long literary programme will be opened by Arts Council director Mary Cloake in Galway City Museum tomorrow, followed by readings by New York-based Irish barrister and writer Joseph O’Neill and North American novelist Timothy O’Grady.
Banned Chinese writer Ma Jian, Pakistan-born Nadeem Aslam, public interviews with Joseph O’Connor and Aidan Higgins, and readings by Philip Schultz, Colm Tóibín, Gene Kerrigan, Blake Morrison, Janice Galloway and Claire Keegan are among highlights of the event, directed by Maureen Kennelly.
“We are very excited at the discovery of new voices such as Sana Krasikov [Ukraine] and Petina Gappah [Zimbabwe], who are fast becoming two of the finest practitioners of the short story form,” Ms Kennelly has said.
Helen Simpson, a former Sunday TimesYoung Writer of the Year, will read from her latest short story collection, Constitutional.Louis de Bernières, author of the bestselling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin, will read from his book A Partisan's Daughter.
An Irish-language dimension includes a musical staging of An Táinby Colman Ó Raghallaigh, and a performance by John Spillane of songs learned at school.
Galway Youth Theatre will stage A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Cúirt debate, Leadership: Are Economists Replacing Politicians?,will be chaired by David McWilliams, with a panel including Dr Alan Ahearne, recently appointed special adviser to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan; Irish Timesjournalist Kathy Sheridan; poet and former hedge fund banker Katy Lederer; and musician Paddy Cullivan.
Programme details and tickets are available from the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, 091-569777.
