Tag Archives: Dublin Book Festival

İlhan Sami Çomak on Books for Breakfast podcast

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While İlhan Sami Çomak and İpek Õzel were here for the Dublin Book Festival, they were interviewed by Enda Wyley and Peter Sirr for the Books for Breakfast podcast before their Meet the Poet session in the Café at IMMA.

What a great weekend that was! With thanks to everyone at the Dublin Book Festival, especially Julianne Mooney Siron (Director), to the staff at the National Library who hosted İlhan’s event and the staff in the Café at IMMA – and to Enda for sending the link.

https://booksforbreakfast.buzzsprout.com/1162427/episodes/18170410-86-ilhan-sami-comak-ferdia-mac-anna-on-liadan-ni-chuinn

Enda Wyley, İlhan Sami Çomak & İpek Ōzel

Day of the Imprisoned Writer @ Dublin Book Festival

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Saturday 8th November @ 2:00 p.m. National Library Kildare Street. This event is free but booking is essential: https://dublinbookfestival.com/event/day-of-the-imprisoned-writer/

İlhan Sami Çomak is an award-winning and internationally regarded Kurdish poet who was imprisoned in Istanbul for 30 years, before finally being released in 2024. This year, to mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is honoured to have Çomak joining us in person, along with his interpreter Ipek Ozel, for an afternoon in conversation with author and Co-Chair of Irish PEN/PEN na hEireann, Liz McManus.


İlhan Sami Çomak is a prize-winning poet, recipient of the Sennur Sezer poetry prize (1999), the Metin Altıok prize (2022) and the Norwegian Authors’ Union Freedom of Expression award (2022) member of the Writers’ Union of Turkey, prize-winning playwright and honorary member of the following PEN Centres:  PEN Norway, Wales PEN Cymru, Irish PEN Na H’Eireann, PEN Sydney and PEN Austria.  He has been in poetic conversation by letter with over 80 world-renowned poets and has a huge poetic family extending all over the globe.

Liz McManus is a novelist and short story writer. She was born in Montreal, Canada. She grew up in Ireland and has worked as an architect in Derry, Galway and Dublin. She was a columnist for seven years with The Sunday Tribune newspaper. Her literary  awards include Listowel, Irish Pen (Short Story awards) and the Hennessy Award for New Irish Writing. Her first novel, Acts of Subversion (Poolbeg) was shortlisted for the Aer Lingus/Irish Times award. A Shadow in the Yard (Ward River Press) her second novel was published in 2013 and her latest novel When Things Come to Light (Arlen House) was published in 2013. She was a member of Wicklow Co Council and was elected to Dail Eireann in 1992 and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal (1994-97). She chaired the Commission on the Needs of Travellers and has been a long-time campaigner for Women’s Rights. She has an MPhil with Distinction in Creative Writing (TCD 2012). Residencies include the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig and the Hienrich Boll cottage on Achill Island. In July 2024 she was awarded outright a PhD in Philosophy (Creative Writing) at the University of Limerick. Currently she is Co Chair of Irish PEN/PEN na hEireann. 

Ipek Ozel is an academic at the faculty of law, with a focus on human rights, law and prison studies. Lecturing for the last 27 years. Advocating for students in prisons for the last 15 years.  Ipek has served as a McKenzie Friend to 8 students who were long term prisoners and has followed up on many trials of students charged with political crimes. She has been one of Ilhan Sami’s staunchest supporters and friends.

Day of the Imprisoned Writer – İlhan Sami Çomak

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Venue: The Printworks, Dublin Castle

When: Friday 08th November, 6:30 pm

This year, to mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and Dublin Book Festival are proud to dedicate the event to our first Honorary Member, Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Çomak, one of Turkey’s longest-serving political prisoners. Joining us will be: Paula Meehan, poet; Caroline Stockford, PEN Norway, İlhan’s friend and translator; Ipek Ozel, İlhan’s McKenzie Friend; Iggy McGovern, poet and Board member of Irish PEN, and Burhan Sönmez, President of PEN International. With artwork by Gianluca Costantini @channeldraw on display. 

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.

The event is FREE but booking is essential. Please click here.

Paula Meehan was born and raised in Dublin’s north inner city. Her award-winning poetry has garnered widespread popular and critical acclaim. She has been translated into many languages; recently
Japanese & Dutch with collections forthcoming in Spanish, Polish, Greek. Her poetry has been scored for choirs, for solo voice, has been made into songs by artists from divers traditions — the folk, including the legendary Christy Moore, and the avant garde; has been made into wee films; has been danced; has been
inflicted on the youth of the country in school & university. Has been 8/1 to come up on the Leaving Cert. She was Ireland Professor of Poetry, 2013–2016 and Imaginary Bonnets with Real Bees in Them, her public lectures from the Chair, are published by UCD Press. Recent publications are As If By Magic: Selected Poems, (2020) and The Solace of Artemis (2023) which received the Pigott Prize for Poetry,  2024. They are published by Dedalus Press, Dublin.

© Paula T Nolan

Caroline Stockford is a poet and translator of Turkish literature. She works as Turkey Adviser for PEN Norway and has led the campaign for Ilhan since 2019. She and other translators produced his selected works in English, Separated from the Sun, in 2021 (available from Smokestack
books) and an anthology of world poets writing for Ilhan is on the way.

Ipek Ozel is an academic at the faculty of law, with a focus on human rights, law and prison studies. Lecturing for the last 27 years. Advocating for students in prisons for the last 15 years.  Ipek has served as a McKenzie Friend to 8 students who were long term prisoners and has followed up on many trials of students charged with political crimes. She has been one of Ilhan Sami’s staunchest supporters and friends.

Iggy McGovern was born in 1948 in Coleraine; since 1979 he has resided in Dublin, where he lectured in Physics at Trinity College, retiring in 2013. He has published three collections of poetry with Dedalus Press: The King of Suburbia (2005), Safe House (2010) and The Eyes of Isaac Newton (2017). Other publications include A Mystic Dream of 4 (2013) and Making Waves (2019), both with Quaternia Press.
Awards include The Hennessy Award for Poetry and The Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for Poetry.

Burhan Sönmez is the author of six novels. He is president of PEN International and a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. His novels have been translated into forty-eight languages and received international prizes, including the EBRD Literature Prize and Vaclav Havel Library Award. He was born in Turkey and grew up speaking Turkish and Kurdish. He worked as a lawyer in Istanbul before going to Britain for political reasons and living there in exile for several years. He has been on the judging panel of several events, including Inge Feltrinelli Prize and
Geneva International Film Festival and written for press such as La Repubblica, Der Spiegel and The Guardian. He has translated the poetry book of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake into Turkish. Having written five novels in Turkish, he began to write in his mother tongue, Kurdish, with his last novel Lovers of Franz K. He lives between Cambridge and Istanbul.

©Roberto Gandola

Day of the Imprisoned Writer – İlhan Sami Çomak

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Venue: The Printworks, Dublin Castle

When: Friday 08th November, 6:30 pm

This year, to mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and Dublin Book Festival are proud to dedicate the event to our first Honorary Member, Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Çomak, one of Turkey’s longest-serving political prisoners. Joining us will be: Paula Meehan, poet; Caroline Stockford, PEN Norway, İlhan’s friend and translator; Ipek Ozel, İlhan’s McKenzie Friend; Iggy McGovern, poet and Board member of Irish PEN, and Burhan Sönmez, President of PEN International. With artwork by Gianluca Costantini @channeldraw on display. 

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.

The event is FREE but booking is essential. Please click here.

Paula Meehan was born and raised in Dublin’s north inner city. Her award-winning poetry has garnered widespread popular and critical acclaim. She has been translated into many languages; recently
Japanese & Dutch with collections forthcoming in Spanish, Polish, Greek. Her poetry has been scored for choirs, for solo voice, has been made into songs by artists from divers traditions — the folk, including the legendary Christy Moore, and the avant garde; has been made into wee films; has been danced; has been
inflicted on the youth of the country in school & university. Has been 8/1 to come up on the Leaving Cert. She was Ireland Professor of Poetry, 2013–2016 and Imaginary Bonnets with Real Bees in Them, her public lectures from the Chair, are published by UCD Press. Recent publications are As If By Magic: Selected Poems, (2020) and The Solace of Artemis (2023) which received the Pigott Prize for Poetry,  2024. They are published by Dedalus Press, Dublin.

© Paula T Nolan

Caroline Stockford is a poet and translator of Turkish literature. She works as Turkey Adviser for PEN Norway and has led the campaign for Ilhan since 2019. She and other translators produced his selected works in English, Separated from the Sun, in 2021 (available from Smokestack
books) and an anthology of world poets writing for Ilhan is on the way.

Ipek Ozel is an academic at the faculty of law, with a focus on human rights, law and prison studies. Lecturing for the last 27 years. Advocating for students in prisons for the last 15 years.  Ipek has served as a McKenzie Friend to 8 students who were long term prisoners and has followed up on many trials of students charged with political crimes. She has been one of Ilhan Sami’s staunchest supporters and friends.

Iggy McGovern was born in 1948 in Coleraine; since 1979 he has resided in Dublin, where he lectured in Physics at Trinity College, retiring in 2013. He has published three collections of poetry with Dedalus Press: The King of Suburbia (2005), Safe House (2010) and The Eyes of Isaac Newton (2017). Other publications include A Mystic Dream of 4 (2013) and Making Waves (2019), both with Quaternia Press.
Awards include The Hennessy Award for Poetry and The Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for Poetry.

Burhan Sönmez is the author of six novels. He is president of PEN International and a Senior Member of Hughes Hall College and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. His novels have been translated into forty-eight languages and received international prizes, including the EBRD Literature Prize and Vaclav Havel Library Award. He was born in Turkey and grew up speaking Turkish and Kurdish. He worked as a lawyer in Istanbul before going to Britain for political reasons and living there in exile for several years. He has been on the judging panel of several events, including Inge Feltrinelli Prize and
Geneva International Film Festival and written for press such as La Repubblica, Der Spiegel and The Guardian. He has translated the poetry book of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake into Turkish. Having written five novels in Turkish, he began to write in his mother tongue, Kurdish, with his last novel Lovers of Franz K. He lives between Cambridge and Istanbul.

©Roberto Gandola

“Culture in a Time of War” event at the RIA

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Dublin Book Festival

Report by Natalya Kornienko for Chytomo.

This event was sponsored by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature in association with Dublin City Council. It was dedicated to the memory of Victoria Amelina, who was scheduled to appear on the panel before she was killed, along with 12 other people, by a Russian Missile strike on a pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine (27th June, 2023)

Dublin Book Fair’s panel on Ukrainian culture: A vital discussion on preserving heritage and identity under siege

Culture in a Time of War – Dublin Book Festival

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Thursday 9th November, 6:30 p.m.

Venue: The Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dubin 2

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann in partnership with Dublin Book Festival and the Ukrainian-Irish Cultural Platform host a discussion centred on the importance of preserving cultural memory in times of war. With journalist, cultural manager, Executive Director of PEN Ukraine, and curator Tetyana Teren; poet, essayist, and Professor of Cultural Studies Iryna Starovoyt; and curator of the WOUNDED CULTURE project, cultural analyst and manager at PEN International Olha Mukha. 

This event will be dedicated to the memory of Victoria Amelina, Ukrainian writer, human rights activist and much-loved colleague, who would have been here with us for these event if she had not been killed, along with 12 other people, by a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

This event is supported by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, in association with Dublin City Council.

Admission is free but booking is essential, please click here.

Spring Newsletter, 2010

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Newsletter, Spring 2010

         

irishpen.com.  Tel:  087-966 0770 email: info@irishpen.com  

Irish PEN acknowledges the ongoing support of The Arts Council and Dublin City Council’s Arts Office.

 

OUT AND ABOUT IN 2010

 

When we emerged out of hibernation from the early January snow, it was great to have such a range of social events lined up.

January went out with a memorable bang, with the Annual Irish PEN dinner and presentation of The Irish PEN Award for Literature 2010 to Brendan Kennelly held on Friday 29that the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire.   The magical tone of the evening was set by the glorious full moon, which bathed the harbour and moored yachts in a glorious light, and ever the poet, Brendan Kennelly commented on the beauty of the setting, as he made his way out from Trinity to join us. 

It wasn’t long before the room filled with well-wishers, colleagues and members, some of them old friends of Brendan’s.  To those of us privileged to be there, the note of sincerity in all the accolades was set when our Chair, Anne Le Marquand Hartigan, introduced Brendan and his achievements to the gathering in warm and affectionate terms.  Presenting the award, former TCD colleague and close friend, Senator David Norris was his usual effusive self and regaled us with tales of Brendan grading his essays, when the senator was an undergraduate and the poet his ‘prof’.  In his usual extraordinary and humble way, Brendan Kennelly expressed his delight at being honoured by Irish PENand then to everyone’s delight recited several poems from memory, some by Patrick Kavanagh, followed by lines of his own.  The hearty applause which ensued was prolonged and genuine and as several members commented, it was a ‘vintage’ evening, a privilege to share. 

See Photos on irishpen.com.

 In February,Our President, Brian Friel, saw his ‘Faith Healer’ back at the Gate and Edna O’Brien’s play ‘Haunted’ starring Brenda Blethyn, had a run at the Gaiety.  Friel fans won’t have long to wait until that theatre lifts the curtain on ‘Philadelphia Here I come’, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, which will run from March 9th – April 10th.

Down the road at the National Library, Kildare Street, novelist and elegant octogenarian, Jennifer Johnston co-launched the exhibition of the original Lifelines’ letters, to mark the 25th anniversary of the project.  The Library has purchased the collection and they make interesting reading.

FEBRUARY ASSOCIATE MEMBER’S EVENING

‘Finding a Home for your Writing’ – our Associate Member night this year was held on February 11th   2010 in the United Arts Club.

Our expert panel included, Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra and travel correspondent to the Pat Kenny Radio show, Aine Toner, editor of Woman’s Way, and Sue Leonard, freelance journalist and author.

An informative and interesting evening, this helped members, in very practical terms with regards to how to submit articles to both Eoghan and Aine.   From her experience as a journalist, Sue gave a realistic account from the other side of the submission process of how to find an idea, hone it, build business relationships and eventually get your pieces published.  The wide-ranging experience of our panellists made the road home for your writing seem that little bit straighter.

WEBSITE REVAMP

Observant members will have noticed that our website, irishpen.com, has undergone something of a facelift.  We are very keen to post information of interest to writers and members and keep it as live and up-to-date as possible.  Log on to see news of recent events.  Sincere thanks to Joe Armstrong for his work on the revamp.  The really sharp among you will have also noticed a changed email address.  The new address is: info@irishpen.com. Over the coming months, we hope to use this address exclusively.  For the purposes of database management, this is an impassioned plea to members to send us mail to our NEW address above, confirming their email, and postal addresses, marking the subject line ‘Full Member database’ or ‘Associate Member database’ as appropriate.  In this way, we hope to be able to communicate more effectively with you all.

Please remember to renew your membership as we depend on the support of our members.  Any outstanding memberships for 2010 may be paid by following the links on the website, irishpen.com.  

Full Membership: €40.00        Associate Membership: €30 .00

There is a PayPal facility available.

 

MEMBERS’ NEWS:

 

CONGRATULATIONS to Leland Bardwell on being the first recipient of

‘The Dede Korkut Literary Award’, from Turkish PEN for her collection of short stories ‘Different Kinds of Love’, translated into Turkish.

MEMBERS’ PUBLICATIONS:

Sarah Webb’s ‘The Loving Kind’has recently been published by Pan & MacMillan (see irishpen.com.)  Marita Conlon-McKenna’s new book ‘Mother of the Bride’ about a big family Wedding was published on March 4th. 

‘City Pick’ Oxygen Books will feature Dublinlater this month with an introduction to the fifty writers, who bring Dublin to life by Orna Ross.  

Orna may also be found on The Creative Intelligence Blog. 

 

Patricia O’Reilly’s latest novel ‘A Type of Beauty, the story of Kathleen Newton (1854-1882)’ will be launched at Listowel Writers’ Week, 2010.

About the complications of love, it is set in Victorian era London, Agra and Paris.

 

Shelley Goodman’s extensive work ‘Volf Roitman: The Wizard of Madi’, a long illustrated biography of her late husband, Roitman, a novelist, playwright, cineaste and master sculptor, will be published by Red Swan Press in the USA and in Italian, by the University of Florence.

OTHER EVENTS:

 

Dublin Book Festival: Over 40 free events, 100 writers and three days of fun for all the family, Dublin City Hall, March 6th– 8th.  www.dublinbookfestival.com. 

Inkwell Workshop:  Writing for Children Workshop, facilitated by best-selling

authors Sarah Webb and Oisin McGann, March 20th, Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel, Killiney, Co Dublin.  9 – 4.30pm, includes lunch, writers’ tips information pack. €175.  For further information:  Contact Vanessa O’Loughlin at vol@esatclear.ie.