Maureen Kennelly was artistic director of the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray until November 2008. She was director of Kilkenny Arts Festival from 1998 to 2002 and she has also worked with Fishamble New Writing Theatre Company, Druid Theatre Company and The Arts Council. Theatre shows she has produced include Steven Berkoff’s Kvetch, John Banville’s The Book of Evidence and Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape.
She was a member of the judging panel for the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2002 and 2006 and she chaired this panel in 2003. She is Programme Director of the Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway for 2009 and 2010. She has recently completed an MA in Literature and Publishing at National University of Ireland, Galway. She is a member of the boards of Kilkenny Arts Festival, The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, and Barabbas Theatre Company in Dublin. She is a native of Ballylongford, Co Kerry.
Working as a literature programmer today in Ireland is a task made easy and incredibly fulfilling by the remarkable abundance of magnificent Irish writing that seems to flow in an endless stream. That fact too, of course, makes it easier to attract international writers as the reputation of Irish writing stretches further into the world. Programming
Cúirt is never less than exhilarating and it has been extra special in this, our 25th year.
In researching the past towards devising special events for the anniversary programme, it has been inspiring to reflect on the writers who have been here in the past, people like Allen Ginsberg, Derek Walcott and Annie Proulx among many others.
Given our desire to reflect the breadth of quality contemporary literature in the festival, there is no overarching theme to the programme. I think that imposition can often be restrictive. However, I have given, I hope, careful consideration to pairings and themes within individual events and I have tried to marry the familiar with the unknown and the unexpected.
Some festival strands I’d especially like to mention:
The Irish short story is enjoying a remarkable period at the moment and I wanted to reflect this by celebrating the part that The New Yorker has played in elevating what Richard Ford has called ‘the national art form of Ireland’. I’m delighted that fiction editor of The New Yorker Deborah Treisman will join us to introduce three different events in the short story form. A late addition to the programme will see a discussion panel which will look at just what it is that Irish writers lend to the short story – the panel comprises Kevin Barry, Claire Keegan and Roddy Doyle, and it will be broadcast for future transmission on Canadian national radio.
Speaking of radio, I am a great believer in the medium’s power as a purveyor of literature and this year we are delighted to introduce a radio strand. Radio 1 has been at the forefront in supporting literature in all forms from both home and abroad. In particular the brilliantly arresting and engaging radio diaries conceived by producer Marian Richardson for Drivetime have captured what it is about radio that makes it an art form. This public manifestation of some memorable diaries from Joseph O’Connor, Olivia O’Leary and Fergus Finlay moderated by Mary Wilson will make for a very special evening at Druid.
An obvious appetite for more discussion has been evident in recent years and we have tried to expand opportunities for audience to interact with the visiting writers. For me that is a crucial part of what makes the festival endure so successfully, and what makes it memorable and distinctive.
There is so much more to say about the programming of the festival this year – the expansion into spoken word and song, the international festivals which will visit us this year from New Zealand, New York, Slovenia, Toronto and Edinburgh, the screening of the film Night Mail, Barrie Cooke’s exhibition at the Norman Villa Gallery – all sorts of lovely things which have greatly superseded the pressure and memory of any challenges that we faced.
The festival is nearly upon us and this piece is written in great haste. All here at Cúirt are now giddy with excitement at the prospect of the exceptional writers that will arrive into town next week – we’d very much like you to join us.
The 2012 Ennis Book Club Festival will kick off with a discussion about the future of reading in the digital age. Running from 2nd-4th March this is the sixth year of the festival.
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Guest Column: Programming Cúirt
She was a member of the judging panel for the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2002 and 2006 and she chaired this panel in 2003. She is Programme Director of the Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway for 2009 and 2010. She has recently completed an MA in Literature and Publishing at National University of Ireland, Galway. She is a member of the boards of Kilkenny Arts Festival, The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, and Barabbas Theatre Company in Dublin. She is a native of Ballylongford, Co Kerry.
Working as a literature programmer today in Ireland is a task made easy and incredibly fulfilling by the remarkable abundance of magnificent Irish writing that seems to flow in an endless stream. That fact too, of course, makes it easier to attract international writers as the reputation of Irish writing stretches further into the world. Programming Cúirt is never less than exhilarating and it has been extra special in this, our 25th year.
In researching the past towards devising special events for the anniversary programme, it has been inspiring to reflect on the writers who have been here in the past, people like Allen Ginsberg, Derek Walcott and Annie Proulx among many others.
Given our desire to reflect the breadth of quality contemporary literature in the festival, there is no overarching theme to the programme. I think that imposition can often be restrictive. However, I have given, I hope, careful consideration to pairings and themes within individual events and I have tried to marry the familiar with the unknown and the unexpected.
Some festival strands I’d especially like to mention:
The Irish short story is enjoying a remarkable period at the moment and I wanted to reflect this by celebrating the part that The New Yorker has played in elevating what Richard Ford has called ‘the national art form of Ireland’. I’m delighted that fiction editor of The New Yorker Deborah Treisman will join us to introduce three different events in the short story form. A late addition to the programme will see a discussion panel which will look at just what it is that Irish writers lend to the short story – the panel comprises Kevin Barry, Claire Keegan and Roddy Doyle, and it will be broadcast for future transmission on Canadian national radio.
Speaking of radio, I am a great believer in the medium’s power as a purveyor of literature and this year we are delighted to introduce a radio strand. Radio 1 has been at the forefront in supporting literature in all forms from both home and abroad. In particular the brilliantly arresting and engaging radio diaries conceived by producer Marian Richardson for Drivetime have captured what it is about radio that makes it an art form. This public manifestation of some memorable diaries from Joseph O’Connor, Olivia O’Leary and Fergus Finlay moderated by Mary Wilson will make for a very special evening at Druid.
An obvious appetite for more discussion has been evident in recent years and we have tried to expand opportunities for audience to interact with the visiting writers. For me that is a crucial part of what makes the festival endure so successfully, and what makes it memorable and distinctive.
There is so much more to say about the programming of the festival this year – the expansion into spoken word and song, the international festivals which will visit us this year from New Zealand, New York, Slovenia, Toronto and Edinburgh, the screening of the film Night Mail, Barrie Cooke’s exhibition at the Norman Villa Gallery – all sorts of lovely things which have greatly superseded the pressure and memory of any challenges that we faced.
The festival is nearly upon us and this piece is written in great haste. All here at Cúirt are now giddy with excitement at the prospect of the exceptional writers that will arrive into town next week – we’d very much like you to join us.