Introduction
“Words bounce. Words, if you let them, will do what they want to do and what they have to do.”
Anne Carson , Autobiography of Red
It’s something to learn from, something to live by: the extraordinary resilience of the poem, as articulated here by the poet whose lecture will open the 2011 dlr Poetry Now Festival, Anne Carson. The poem’s determination, its focus, its sense of what must be done; as poets from around the world gather for a long weekend of readings, talks and events, that energy and vision will be richly in evidence in the Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire. This year, poets from Canada, Estonia, Poland, Spain, the UK and the USA will join us to read with several of the very best of contemporary Irish poets, and to celebrate and bear witness to the particular power of the poem.
Anne Carson’s keynote address, The Untranslatable (In All of Us) , will consider the enigma of expression and the limits of translation. Through the lens of Carson’s singular intellect, a whole host of artists and their worlds will come into view - a fitting start to a festival which, as ever, will draw together a richly diverse tapestry of poets and thinkers over the course of its four days.
2011 will mark sixteen years of dlr Poetry Now. Throughout its history, and especially with the establishment of its two awards - The Irish Times Poetry Now Award and the Rupert & Eithne Strong Award - the festival and its partners have sought not only to create memorable events for its audiences, but valuable opportunities for poets. Hence, it’s with real pleasure that we welcome back to the festival not one but two past winners of our poetry awards: Sinéad Morrissey, whose Through the Square Window (Carcanet) received last year’s Irish Times Poetry Now Award, and Dave Lordan, whose debut collection The Boy in the Ring (Salmon Poetry) won The Rupert and Eithne Strong Award in 2008.
Come to dlr Poetry Now to hear the very best of Irish and international poetry, of all generations. Hear Gerald Stern, one of the most distinguished of all American poets; hear his countrywoman Heather McHugh, winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Award in 2009. Hear the masterful Michael Longley; hear the inimitable Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. On Friday evening, come to hear the work of one of the most prominent of contemporary Spanish poets, Luis García Montero, as he reads with Paul Farley and Joseph Woods. On Saturday evening, Fiona Sampson will read both her own poetry and her translations of Jaan Kaplinski, who will read his work in the original Estonian. And on Sunday, we’ll be treated to a reading by the acclaimed Scottish poet Don Paterson.
This year’s festival will also honour a writer whose work is close to the heart of many Irish poets, and to lovers of poetry everywhere; the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, whose centenary falls this year, will be remembered and discussed in a special event with the poets Harry Clifton and Jerzy Jarniewicz. And on Saturday afternoon, join us for an event in which Irish poets, as well as a number of special guest readers, will think about the Ireland in which they find themselves today, and about the poems which help them to make sense of that place and that predicament. It’s certain to be a thought-provoking event - maybe a heartening one, maybe a sobering one - and very probably an afternoon to inspire, and to remember.
The festival will also host writing workshops, the children’s reading, a conversation on the craft of writing poetry, and the announcement and presentation of The Irish Times Poetry Now Award 2011 for the best collection of poetry in 2010, and of the Rupert & Eithne Strong Award for the year’s best first collection. We very much look forward to seeing you and to enjoying your company at the weekend’s readings, talks and events.
Belinda McKeon, Festival Curator.