Selected by Paula Meehan, Ten Poems from Ireland, from Notttingham-based publisher Candlestick Press, will be launched at Poetry Ireland, 11 Parnell Square East, on January 26th, at 7pm, with readings by Meehan and other contributing poets. The pamphlet includes poems by Eavan Boland, Moya Cannon, Tony Curtis, Michael Hartnett, Brendan Kennelly, Gearóid MacLochlainn, Thomas McCarthy, Paula Meehan, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Leanne O'Sullivan and is dedicated to the memory of John Montague.
Eavan Boland is the new editor of Poetry Ireland Review. Her first issue will be available from March 31st. Separately, applications are now open for Poetry Ireland Introductions 2017. Poets in the early stages of their careers, writing in English or Irish, should apply by February 17th. More information on how to apply at poetryireland.ie
Martin John, "a darkly comic novel" by Anakana Schofield (And Other Stories) and the "beautifully written" Solar Bones by Mike McCormack (Tramp Press) are on the eight-strong shortlist for the Republic of Consciousness Prize. The prize was launched by author Neil Griffiths to find the "best novel published by a small press". "We weren't just looking for great novels but 'hardcore literary fiction and gorgeous prose'," Griffiths said.
Griffiths said of Schofield’s novel: “Martin John struggles with an impulse towards public sexual exposure, and we are witness to his life in a novel of formal ingenuity that embraces poetry, plainchant, monologue, memory and dream. Anakana Schofield is a novelist of very rare gifts and this is a singular achievement.” The winner will be announced on March 9th.
Baileys Prize winner Eimear McBride has been announced as one of the judges for this year's BBC National Short Story Award, now in its 12th year and worth £15,000. Previous winners include Julian Gough and, last year, KJ Orr. Joanna Trollope chairs the judging panel made up of IMPAC Award winner Jon McGregor; Encore Award winner Sunjeev Sahota; and Di Speirs, Books Editor at BBC Radio. For entry details, visit bbc.co.uk/nssa
Representations of Jews in Irish Literature, a free exhibition examining the portrayal of Jewishness in Ireland through a selection of key Irish-Jewish writing and Irish literature, is being held at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast until January 31st. From the medieval Annals of Inisfallen through centuries of poetry, prose and drama to the present day, the relationship between Jews and Ireland as found in the literary record is studied. It then moves to Waterford Institute of Technology, where it will run for the month of February. It will be launched on February 1st at 6pm by poet Simon Lewis, author of Jewtown.
In advance of Holocaust Memorial Day, Liz O'Donnell , former minister for overseas development and human rights, will read extracts from a short wartime memoir by a Holocaust survivor, From My War to your Peace, Love Nonna by Monika Sears, in the Oliver Sears Gallery, 29 Molesworth St, Dublin 2 on January 26th, at 6.30pm. Oliver Sears is the author's son.
Man Booker Prize-winner Alan Hollinghurst will discuss Henry James as a critic, "The Battered Technician", with Carlo Gébler in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, at 6pm, on January 26th. ria.ie
Tickets are now on sale for readings by Mohsin Hamid; Joanna Trollope; Michael Longley and Fanny Howe; Sarah Howe and Nick Laird; Judith Kerr; and Ryan Tubridy and PJ Lynch, all part of the Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival 2017, which will run in various locations in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown from March 22nd- 26th. mountainstosea.ie
