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Irish Writers in London Summer School
10th Anniversary
9 June – 19 July 2005
with special guest Edna O’Brien
This year’s guest writers are…
Edna O’Brien who published her first novel The Country Girls in 1960 and
has been the subject of controversy in her own country ever since. Her
themes and preoccupations are always Irish and her novels set in the primal
landscape that she knows so well. She lives in Ireland and out of Ireland
admitting once that the stories were to be found there, but the relative
peace to write them was to be found elsewhere. She has received many awards
and has been described by Philip Roth as ‘a consummate stylist and the most
gifted woman now writing fiction in English’. She is an honorary member of
the American Academy of Arts. Her new novel, Twilight will appear in 2006.
John Bird who was born in 1946 in Notting Hill to an Irish mother and an
English father. Starting off as a printer he turned to writing and
publishing in 1975. Ten years later he won an Arts Council Award for new
writing for Dreams on a Dancehall Floor and has had numerous plays
performed across the UK. His greatest publishing achievement so far has
been The Big Issue, a social phenomenon that has grown to help thousands of
homeless people in Britain and across the world. His autobiography, Some
Luck was published in 2002.
Maurice Riordan who was born in Lisgoold, Co. Cork. He has published two
collections with Faber & Faber, A Word from the Loki (a Poetry Book Society
Choice and nominated for the T.S. Eliot Prize) and Floods (short listed for
the Whitbread Poetry Prize in 2000). He has edited, with Jon Turney, A
Quark for Mister Mark: 101 Poems about Science and, with John Burnside, the
ecological anthology Wild Reckoning. Confidential Reports, translations of
the Maltese poet Immanuel Mifsud, will appear in July this year. He teaches
at Imperial College and Goldsmiths College, and he edits Poetry London.
Aisling Walsh who is a screenplay-writer and film director. She attended
Dun Laoghaire School of Art in Dublin and The National Film School in
Beaconsfield, London. Her writer/director credits include Joyriders (1988)
which won the Sunday Tribune Arts Award and Song For A Raggy Boy (2003)
which has won seventeen awards at major festivals around the world. She
also adapted Sarah Waters’novel Fingersmith for television and recently
directed a film segment about her vision of Ireland for The European Film
Omnibus.
Brian Keaney who was born in London to Irish parents. He was educated by
nuns and Jesuit priests and spent every summer holiday in Ireland. After
leaving university he worked for ten years as a teacher before leaving
education to concentrate on writing. His first book, Don’t Hang About
(1985) was published to considerable critical acclaim. The Irish Times
said, ‘There is an echo of Frank O’Connor’s sensitivity in some of these
beautifully written stories.” Since then he has written 12 novels for young
people which have been translated into six languages. His latest book,
Jacob’s Ladder, was published by Orchard Books in March 2005.
Irish Writers in London Summer School
First established by the Irish Studies Centre in 1996, this unique course
runs for two nights per week for six weeks and aims to provide an informal
but informative setting for students wishing to study Irish literature over
the summer. The course consists of a mixture of lectures, seminars,
readings and cultural activities.
Each week an established Irish writer living in London comes to read and
speak about their work to students. Two evenings prior
to this, students read, discuss and analyse extracts of the writer’s work
with the course tutor. This provides time for students to digest and
reflect on their reactions and discussion about the set texts. A further
rationale behind this approach is to highlight and discuss the differences
between our readings of such texts before and after hearing and meeting the
author in question. Each writer talks about their family background and
discusses their motivations and experience of emigration to and/or life in
London in the context of their work. Students read and learn about a broad
spectrum of Irish writing and gain valuable insights into the different
approaches such writing involves. This year’s texts include fiction,
autobiography, screenplay-writing and poetry.
Past participants in the summer school have included Matthew Sweeney, Maura
Dooley, Pete McCarthy, Colette Bryce, Kate O’Riordan, Emma Donoghue, John
Walsh, Moy McCrory, Cherry Smyth, Ronan Bennett, Martina Evans, Anne
Devlin, Blake Morrison, Christina Reid and Shane Connaughton.
N.B. Whilst this is not a creative writing course it will compliment such a
course of study at London Metropolitan University or elsewhere.
Venue: London Metropolitan University
Tower Building
Holloway Road
London N7
(nearest tube: Holloway Road)
Dates: 9 June – 19 July 2005
Times: Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6 – 8.30pm
(N.B. Edna O’Brien will appear on Wednesday 15 June)
Course Fee: £110 (£65 concessions)
No prior qualifications are required to take this course
Further details
Bookings forms and further information are available from Kathy O’Regan
Tel: 020 7133 2913
Email: [log in to unmask]
Irish Writers in London Summer School
Some of the feedback received from writers and students over the years
“Having the opportunity to hear famous writers read from their own work and
talk with them afterwards is inspirational. And the atmosphere is so
supportive and encouraging. It is unmissable” (Bridget Whelan, student)
“I enjoyed myself immensely, the students seemed like the perfect readers
of my mother – subtle, discerning and appreciative of the complexities of
her situation” (Blake Morrison, writer)
“Many thanks for a splendid evening, the whole experience was thoroughly
rewarding for me.” (Gerry McKee, writer)
“As a person who has lectured in further and higher education, I would like
to congratulate the Irish Studies department for running this most
interesting and stimulating course” (Patricia Neeson, student)
“I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and found the students very welcoming and
the responses very refreshing” (Colette Bryce, writer)
“I really enjoyed the summer school and hope that one day my second
generation children can attend as one means of keeping in touch with their
roots” (Nora Holder, student)
“I very much enjoyed the visit to your Summer School. For me it was a
lovely occasion altogether and thought-provoking in quite a profound way”
(Maura Dooley, writer)
“It was one of the most vital and energising sessions I
have participated in and I know it will contribute to
how I reflect on my work in future”
(Deirdre Shanahan, writer)
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