Full Irish Beckett under preparationNo sooner have we put away our copies of Ulysses and recovered from the recent bout of Joyceana organised around the centenary of June 16th, 1904, but word comes that the work of another writer-in-exile is to be celebrated as part of another centenary.
This time it's the turn of Samuel Beckett, and the turn, too, of the cultural division of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which has stolen a march on the Department of Arts, under whose aegis the whole ReJoyce celebration was organised and funded, though the DFA was responsible for a touring exhibition on Joyce's life and work which went abroad.
Announcing Beckett 2006 - the writer was born on Good Friday, 1906 - Michael Sanfrey of the DFA's cultural division said the plan was to host a series of events, possibly through the embassies and focusing on an exhibition to highlight Beckett's achievements as a playwright and novelist.
Sanfrey makes the point that Beckett's significance is not one that should be looked at only in literary terms but "politically also" - now that's a proposition for the scholars to mull over.
Whether the long-term spin-off of 2006 is the establishment of yet another annual summer school or symposium - as with Joyce, Yeats, Wilde and other scribes - remains to be seen, but already such an event is held every two years by the Beckett working group of the International Federation for Theatre Research. This year, participants met in St Petersburg and the likelihood is that the 2006 gathering will be in Dublin as part of the DFA programme. The department has previously given financial assistance for the publication of a volume of the papers presented at the 2002 meeting in Amsterdam.
The provision of a hearty Irish breakfast was one of the highlights of the ReJoyce celebration this year, so what fare could be offered at a similar feasting for Beckett followers - boiled lobster, perhaps?
Watch out, Binchy's about
"Publishers don't come by at dead of night and break into your house and look for it. You have to be brave and let your beloved script out of your hands and give it to someone who might well fling it back at you, saying politely that it's rubbish."
So says Maeve Binchy in an introduction to the latest edition of that indispensable prop for the professional and aspiring writer, The Writers & Artists Yearbook 2005. The yearbook, Binchy adds, " is like a scaffolding on a building, it sort of suggests that it is half possible to climb up this unreal dream mountain of being a writer". Dispensing her own advice to would-be writers on how to develop a style and a voice, Binchy lets us in on one of her own trade secrets: "I often follow people to know how their conversations will end." So watch out when she's about.
As well as Binchy's introduction, the author's bible on how to get published also includes useful advice on the role of the literary agent, tips on adult fiction from Joanna Trollope and on children's fiction from J.K. Rowling, as well as pointers on publishing agreements, writers' retreats, websites, and writing for theatre, TV and radio.
Kiely at home
'A View from the Treetop' is the intriguing title of the programme for the third Benedict Kiely Literary Weekend, due to take place on the writer's home territory in Co Tyrone in September. As well as an opening keynote address by John Hume, Maurice Harmon will speak about Kiely's mastery of the short story and Owen Dudley Edwards will present an historical overview of his work.
Other speakers lined up for the three-day event, from September 17th to 19th, include Belfast poet Ciaran Carson and Dr John Wilson Foster, who will discuss Irish fiction and the wars, an apt topic given that Kiely's novel, Proxopera, is one of the best works of fiction with the Northern conflict as a theme.
Kiely, who is 85 this year, was the subject of a recent documentary, Woodweaver: the Legend of Benedict Kiely, in which a number of eminent writers, including Seamus Heaney, John Montague,Tom Kilroy and Colm McCann, paid homage to Kiely's writing career.
The weekend takes place in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh, and the booking fee, which does not include accommodation costs, is £55. Further information is available from the Omagh Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Square, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT78 1EE.