Asked to devise a new area for the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Festival of World Cultures , Dominic Campbell and Jean Connolly have created “Port Whoopee!”, which includes the Diwan of Mint Tea and Poetry.
Yours truly will be among those contributing.
The Diwan of Mint Tea and Poetry takes place in a Yurt (Mongolian style tent) with richly decorated interior and seats roughly 30 people. Mint tea for free will be served through the day.
The readings, on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, 23/24 August, will be for about 40 minutes in this tent, and will focus on translation.
This entails the reader reading from his or her favourite works in translation
or reading his or her own work in translation and in original.
Dermot Bolger was originally to have read just before me on Sunday but I hear Dermot has now switched to Saturday.
Anyway, the timetable is as follows.
Saturday 23rd
2.30 to 3.10 Dermot Bolger
3.20 to 4.00 Noel O’Briain
4.10 to 4.40 Eamon Lynsky
4.50 to 5.30 Donal Maloney
5.30 to 6pm Ross Hattaway
Sunday 24th August
2 to 2.40 Yvonne Cullen
2.50 to 3.30 Fred Johnstone
3.40 to 4.20 Anatoly Kudryavitsky
4.30 to 5.10 Philip Casey
5.20 to 6pm Eilis Ni Dhuibne
If you’re in the vicinity, drop by on one or both days, as it’s always good to hear of poems from another language. I might be mad enough to read the Spanish translations of my poems in the lovely bi-lingual Sirena 2006.1, edited by Jorge R. Sagastume, and which was a special issue honouring Pearse Hutchinson. Pearse, of course, is internationally known as a translator from both both major and minor languages, as well as a poet of the first order, his latest book, at the age of 83, being At Least for a While (Gallery Press, 2008).
My own poems in Sirena were translated by Ingrid Martínez-Rico, and it’s nice to have this opportunity to offer public thanks. It’s 31 years since I lived in Barcelona, but I think I’m going to chance getting my tongue around those melliflous Spanish phrases that Ingrid chose to represent my English originals. It really is such an honour to have one’s poems translated, so while I’m a bit hobbled at the moment, I’m really looking forward to Sunday afternoon. Apologies to Dermot, Noel etc for not making it out on Saturday. As I say, I’m a bit hobbled just now and have to take things easy.
