Irish Writers in London Summer School 2011
First established by the Irish Studies Centre in 1996, the summer school runs for two nights per week for six weeks and aims to provide an informal but informative setting for students wishing to study Irish literature over the summer. The course consists of a mixture of lectures, seminars, readings and cultural activities.
Each week an established Irish writer comes to read and speak about their work to the students. Two evenings prior to this, students read, discuss and analyse extracts of the writer's work with the course tutor. Writers' motivations and experience of emigration to and/or life in London are also discussed in the context of their work. The writers talk about their background, experiences of getting their work published and performed and provide advice to those students interested in such a course. The students read and learn about a broad spectrum of Irish writing including fiction, autobiography, drama, travel writing and poetry and gain valuable insights into the different approaches such types of writing involve. Guest writers for 2011 will be as follows:
- Author and journalist Mary Kenny who will be talking about her recent play Allegiance which dramatizes the relationship between Michael Collins and Winston Churchill
- Award-winning writer Maurice Leitch who will be discussing his latest novel Tell Me About It set amongst the Irish community in London
- Booker long-listed author Gerard Donovan who will be discussing his critically-acclaimed short story collection Country of the Grand
- Irish Post journalist Joe Horgan who will be talking about living in Ireland after growing up of Irish parents in England
- Bookseller Tony Whelan, who recalls his life-long friendship with John McGahern in his memoir The Last Chapter
NB Whilst this is not a creative writing course, it will complement such a course of study at London Metropolitan University or elsewhere. No prior qualifications are required to attend.
Dates: 9 June - 15 July 2011
Times: 6.00 - 8.30pm (refreshments provided)
Days: Classes take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays with an additional class on Friday 15 July
Fees: TBA
To enrol: email iset@londonmet.ac.uk or
tel: 020 7133 2913
For further information about the course and guest writers, contact Tony Murray at t.murray@londonmet.ac.uk or tel: 020 7133 3593
The Irish Writers in London Summer School is run by the Institute for the Study of European Transformation and the Irish Studies Centre.
It is supported by the Garnett Foundation.
