Highlights from the Dublin Writers' Festival next week will include a visit by the playwright Harold Pinter. He will discuss his work with Fintan O'Toole, at the Peacock Theatre on Thursday, June 17th.
Another guest taking part in this year's festival is the influential US poet, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Born in 1919, he was named San Francisco's first poet laureate in 1998. He also received the Before Columbus Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th annual American Book Awards in 1999. He will discuss his work in a public interview with Myles Dungan at Dublin's UGC Cinemas on Sunday, June 20th.
One of the late-night gigs during the festival - Late Night Tales - is likely to be a popular choice as it's a chance to hear two Irish writers - Michael Collins and Sean O'Reilly - as well as the UK writer Toby Litt, read from their works.
Children's writers Aubrey Flegg and Herbie Brennan are likely to attract a large audience, as children's fiction continues to cross all age-barriers. Carlow-based Brennan's Faerie Wars series was voted No 1 in the US Teen's Top Ten books for 2004. Wings Over Delft, by Dublin-based Flegg, is winner of this year's Bisto Book of the Year Award. They will read in the Project on Friday, June 18th at 11 a.m.
More poetic highlights include a chance to hear Co Clare-born Rosita Boland, of this newspaper, whose latest collection, Dissecting the Heart was published last year, read some of her new work. Reading at the same venue will be Fred Johnston, the Belfast-born poet and founder of the Galway poetry festival Cúirt and Milan Richter, the Bratislava-born diplomat, translator and poet. This happens on the last day of the festival, at the New Theatre in Temple Bar. Also, four poets from Eastern Europe - Petr Borkovec, Kristiina Ehin, Agnieszka Kuciak and Karlis Verdins - are sure to bring a fresh perspective.
