In tomorrow’s Irish Times, Eimear McBride tells me about her new novel, The City Changes its Face; and there is a Q&A with Rachel Donohue about her latest novel, The Glass House.
Reviews are Geraldine Walsh on Blind Spots by Marty Makary; Nicholas Allen on The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr; Vona Groarke on the best new poetry; Brian Casey on Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies by Michael Albertus; Neil Hegarty on The Naming of the Birds by Paraic O’Donnell; Edel Coffey on Tenterhooks by Claire-Lise Kieffer; Ruby Eastwood on In Judgement of Others by Eleanor Anstruther; John Gallagher on Edward Wilson-Lee’s The Grammar of Angels: a search for the magical powers of sublime language; Adrienne Murphy on The politics of gender and sexuality in modern Ireland: A Reader, edited by Jennifer Redmond and Mary McAuliffe; Stephen Walker on The SDLP, Politics and Peace: The Mark Durkan interviews by Graham Spencer; Ian Hughes on Waste Land by Robert D Kaplan; and Michael Cronin on We Do Not Part by Han Kang, translated by e yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris.
This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson, just €6.99, a €6 saving.
President Michael D Higgins has conferred the honour of Saoi of Aosdána on the poet Paul Muldoon.
Speaking at the ceremony, the President said: “With poetry, we may seek fulfilment beyond what may be on offer in a world where relationship and meaning take precedence over the immediacy or limitations of consumption, accumulation and the quest for power and profit. It is only by accepting our fragile material condition that we may hope to attain something higher – through artistic creation, human connections, solidarity, the seeking of harmony, of love, of beauty in our lives given our existence as what I have called ‘migrants in time’.
Paul Muldoon’s poetry allows us to undertake such a journey of emancipation. His is a form of poetry known for its many and varied gifts. Some readers have recognised its use of paradox, with Paul’s poems being both playful yet serious, intangible yet direct, innovative yet traditional.
Reflecting upon a lifetime of outstanding creative work, which continues, it is such a pleasure to congratulate Paul Muldoon on being chosen by his peers in the world of arts and culture for this honour and, mar Uachtarán na hÉireann, to thank him for all that he has given, and all that he continues to give to us and to the world of Irish literature.
Traoslaím leis agus guím rath agus beannacht ar a chuid oibre agus ar a shaol.”
The honour of the Saoi is for singular and sustained distinction in the arts. Not more than seven members of Aosdána may hold this honour, which is held for life, at any one time. A Saoi is elected by fellow members of Aosdána. Muldoon is the thirteenth Saoi in the discipline of literature and he joins the company of George Morrison, elected in 2016; Roger Doyle, elected in 2019 and most recently Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, who was elected in 2022.
Muldoon is a poet and professor of poetry, as well as an editor, critic, playwright, lyricist and translator. Born in 1951 in Portadown, Co Armagh, Muldoon is the author of 12 collections of poetry.
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Paul Muldoon will complete his term as Ireland Professor of Poetry in October. His has been a particularly busy tenure, giving weekly seminars on How to Read a Poem, presenting lectures and a forthcoming reading A History of Ireland in 10 Poems on February 20th at TCD at 7.30pm.
Now, the search begins for the new Ireland Chair of Poetry who will serve until 2028. The professor will be in post for three years attached to UCD, TCD and QUB. The new professor in addition to delivering lectures and seminars at the universities, can also hold workshops, seminars and readings for the public.
The Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust now invites the public to nominate senior poets of honour and distinction to fill this prestigious role using this form. The closing date to receive nominations is February 24th at 5pm.
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For the last two decades, the One Dublin, One Book initiative by Dublin City Council has encouraged everyone in Dublin to read the same book during April. The campaign which is led by Dublin city libraries encourages reading for pleasure and invites readers to participate in various events organised across the city associated with the selected book.
This year, the 20th anniversary of the initiative, Dublin City Council has announced a new anthology of fiction, poetry, essays and memoir pieces collated in celebration of the city as the One Dublin One Book choice for 2025. Dublin, written in our hearts is edited by Declan Meade and published by The Stinging Fly Press and was commissioned by Dublin City Council / Dublin Unesco city of literature for the anniversary year.
It features work from Kevin Barry, Estelle Birdy, Niamh Campbell, Kevin Curran, Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, FELISPEAKS, Sarah Gilmartin, Róisín Kiberd, Caitríona Lally, Deirdre Madden, Belinda McKeon, Paula Meehan, Thomas Morris, Niamh Mulvey, Nuala O’Connor, Sean O’Reilly, Keith Ridgway, Peter Sirr, Stephen James Smith, Rere Ukponu and Karl Whitney.
The main character of the collection is Dublin. Readers are witness to the daily interactions which take place, from the lonely misfit in Caitríona Lally’s Eggshells to the loud antics of a Welsh stag party in Thomas Morris’ All the Boys to the eerie reflections of Róisín Kiberd in Night Gym.
Dublin city librarian Mairead Owens said: “This year’s book, Dublin, written in our hearts, is a special anthology to mark 20 years of the One Dublin One Book initiative. The collection reflects the spirit of Dublin and its inhabitants in the first quarter of the 21st century from new and award-winning writers and I know it will have broad appeal.”
Meade said: “I moved to Dublin in 1995 so I’ll be 30 years living in the city this summer. Putting together this anthology has been a great opportunity to discover and revisit some of the wonderful writing that’s been produced about the city as it’s been changing and growing throughout the time I’ve been here. It’s also been lovely to reflect on how much the city in all its many guises means to me.”
Details of the programme will be announced on March 4th.
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As a tribute to Michael Longley, who died on January 22nd, BBC Radio 3 is rebroadcasting Michael Longley’s Life of Poetry, first broadcast in 2024 to mark the poet’s 85th birthday. In conversation with Olivia O’Leary, Michael looks back on 60 years of poetry and reads a selection of poems from his wide-ranging life’s work – poems of love, of nature, of the first World War and the Troubles – from Ash Keys: New Selected Poems (Cape) and earlier collections. The series is broadcast nightly from Monday 10th to Friday 14th at 9.45pm on BBC Radio 3.
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Two Irish writers have been longlisted for the 10th annual Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. Gerard McKeown has been longlisted for Drumcree Ballee and Emer O’Hanlon for School Run.
O’Hanlon is a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin, writing a thesis about 18th-century women and ancient nude statues. She won the inaugural €2,000 Stinging Fly/FBA Fiction Prize in 2022. McKeown has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and longlisted for the Irish Book Awards’ Short Story of the Year.
The other shortlisted authors are Shastri Akella, Liz Churchill, Toril Cooper, Garrie Fletcher, Valentina Gindri, C.D. Rose, Nicole Sellow and Susannah Waters. All 10 stories can be read online at galleybeggar.co.uk/prize.
Sam Jordison and Eloise Millar, founders and co-directors of Galley Beggar Press, literary critic and broadcaster Claire Armitstead, novelist and poet Clare Pollard, and writer Mathilde Merouani are judging this year’s award.
Millar said: “Any publisher – big or small – can only publish a certain number of writers and books a year. The Short Story Prize came to us back in 2015 as something that we could run alongside our publishing schedule, which would allow us to support and celebrate a greater number of terrific writers – and I can honestly say that it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done. Year after year, it continues to delight, impress, and inspire us.”
The shortlist of three stories will be announced on February 24th, and the winner on March 10th. The winning prize is £2,500.
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The Trinity second-hand book sale will be held from 4pm on Tuesday, February 11th in the Exam Hall, Front Square, Trinity College Dublin (admission €3). An auction of rare books will take place at 5.30pm on Tuesday evening (auction catalogue will be available on its website). The sale continues on Wednesday from 10am to 6pm and on Thursday from 10am to 2pm.
The last Trinity Booksale was held in February 2020 just before the outbreak of the pandemic. Thousands of second-hand books will be for sale on a variety of subjects, but especially strong on Ireland and Irish fiction. There are many books from the library of Sandy Harsch (1942-2018) who presented Country Time on RTÉ radio for 20 years.
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Folens has been selected by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and religious publisher Veritas to produce, market and distribute its portfolio of educational publications across Ireland under license.
John Cadell, executive director of Folens said, “We are delighted to have been selected by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference to continue the wonderful work of Veritas in bringing the highest quality educational resources to thousands of schools across Ireland. The Grow in Love series in particular has had an incredibly positive impact in equipping children with a deeper understanding of Christianity and we endeavour to continue building on its contribution to the school curriculum long into the future.”
Veritas, the publisher and retailer of religious goods, is currently in the final stages of an orderly wind down of the business, as first announced in February 2024.
