Last week I had the pleasure of heading to Ireland’s oldest literary festival – Listowel Writer’s Week – down in County Kerry for a few days.
Founded in 1970, with the first festival taking place in 1971, Listowel Writers’ Week transforms this beautiful Kerry heritage town into a literary destination, for a celebration of literature, cultural experiences and inspiration. Originally founded by John B Keane, Bryan MacMahon and Brendan Kennelly, Listowel Writers’ Week was founded to foster new and exciting talent and features a prominent workshop programme as well as presenting the annual Pigott Poetry Prize and the prestigious Kerry Group Novel of the Year Awards.
After an epic seven-hour drive, I arrived in plenty of time to attend the Opening Night event, during which President Michael D Higgins was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Literature. The President was in attendance and gave a wonderful, celebratory speech in which he spoke of the ‘power of our shared breath of humanity’.
The Pigott Poetry Prize is Ireland’s largest monetary prize for a poetry collection with the winner being awarded €12,000, and the two shortlisted finalists each receiving €1,000. shortlist was a strong one this year, featuring Nick Laird with Up Late, David Nash’s debut collection No Man’s Land and the winning collection The Solace of Artemis by Paula Meehan.
The Kerry Group Novel of the Year Award is another highly prestigious award, with a prize pot of €20,000 and past winners include John Banville, Anne Enright, Eimear McBride and Paul Lynch. This year the Prize was judged by Kit de Waal and Paul McVeigh and the shortlist featured The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry, The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright, The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan and Remembrance Sunday by Darragh McKeon.
I was sitting directly behind Naoise Dolan and Darragh McKeon and enjoyed seeing his stunned shock at being announced the winner, and Dolan’s obvious delight in his victory. Remembrance Sunday isn’t a book I’d heard an awful lot about but explores the aftermath of the IRA bombing of Enniskillen in 1987 in unexpected and illuminating ways. Of course, I felt completely obliged to take myself off to the lovely Woulfe’s Books and buy a copy the next day!
On Thursday I attended a lovely discussion with Caoilinn Hughes and Colin Walsh who were chatting about their books The Alternatives and Kala. Kudos must go to Colin Walsh who told the audience that his father – who is from the area and was incredibly proud to hear that his son was taking part in the Festival – had died just three weeks previously. It was a very moving and emotional moment and for Walsh to then read from his work and take part in the discussion with such presence was really impressive.
Thursday night saw an ‘in conversation’ event with American author Alice McDermott, a writer about whom I didn’t know very much, but who, after an hour in her very capable and intelligent company had me wanting to read everything she has ever written! Superbly chaired by Irish writer Edel Coffey, McDermott talked about her Irish roots, the unseen lives of women and the political situation in the United States. Her new book, Absolution, sounds wonderful and went straight on to the wish list!
Before I had to drive back home on Friday I had a chance to explore Listowel and it is a lovely, bustling town.
What I liked most was how every shop embraced the spirit of the Festival with bookish window displays and how literature is at the very heart of the town. You can’t turn without seeing a statue of a writer, the Kerry Writer’s Museum or some gorgeous literary wall art.
Despite the length of the drive, I do hope to attend again, there is a lovely spirit in Listowel, long may it flourish!