THERE WAS A TIME when literary festivals in Ireland were dominated by a handful of heavyweights, or a second tier of small, worthy events with little profile. Making an impact on what some would say is already a crowded field seems brave or foolhardy in times of economic woe, but Hugo Jellett – director of the Carlow Arts Festival – is undeterred.
“I definitely think there is room for another literary festival, if it promises something that’s a bit different.” Carlow Arts Festival operates under the banner of Éigse, but this year it has also started a tentative relationship with the daddy of all literary gatherings – the Hay Festival. For one weekend, under the banner of Éigse, the Borris House Hay Festival will take place.
Writer Howard Jacobson frequently tells a folkloric story about how the original Hay festival began in a pub with a few writers rounded up by founder Norman Florence. It now has worldwide franchises in places such as Nairobi in Kenya and Cartagena in Colombia, but the hub remains in Wales. “For us, this is a toe-in-the-water relationship. So many other festivals approached Peter [Florence who now runs Hay] and wanted to do something similar in Ireland,” says Jellett. “We were persistent. Most literary events in Ireland tend to be all about Irish writers and our own literature, and we felt that there wasn’t much overseas influence.”
I point out that the Dublin Writer’s Festival has a wide selection of non-Irish writers participating this year. “There are often one or two or three writers from Europe, or England or the US, but we wanted to expand that. Some of the bigger Irish literary festivals take place in very formal settings, spread out over a number of days. We wanted to persuade people to come for the day and immerse themselves in lots of events,” says Jellett.
Events for the wider arts festival take place all over the town, but Borris House is the location for this “Irish Hay”. “I don’t think I’d have done this anywhere else in Carlow apart from Borris,” says Jellet. “We could probably do it elsewhere but the venue is critical – and we’re only an hour and a half from Dublin.”
The Carlow Arts Festival will also oversee the launch of another sub-event: the History of Ireland Festival. Dedicated to exploring historical issues, speakers will include Ruth Dudley Edwards, Myles Dungan, Diarmuid Ferriter and Manchán Magan. Political cabaret Leviathan will also feature under the Borris Hay banner, and there is no denying the obvious cachet that the Hay connection brings to the Carlow event.
This writer attended the Welsh festival in 2010, and what it lacks in excitement terms (it doesn’t have the serendipity or relaxedness of most Irish literary festivals), it makes up for in the sheer number of events and the breadth of its programme. As well as hundreds of book events, there was comedy from Rob Brydon, a sold-out Christy Moore gig and live cookery demonstrations from Yotam Ottolenghi.
Jellett has worked for a variety of organisations in the arts, from the Irish Film Institute and the Gaiety Theatre to Lilliput Press, and recognises that diversity is key to a festival’s success.
“The plan was to programme all kinds of authors – from authors and journalists to film-makers and TV comedy writers. We also think it’s important to offer people a whole day’s worth of interesting events, rather than one or two things spread over a week.”
As well as major Irish names such as Anne Enright, Colm Tóibín and John Banville, Jellett has managed to persuade writers such as Lionel Shriver, AC Grayling and William Dalrymple, TV comedy writers John Lloyd and Sean Hardie and director Stephen Frears to put in appearances.
“Writers love Ireland. And if you’re going to create a salon on the lawn – even an artificial one – people will come to have those conversations.”
