Irish launch of *Tra una vita e l’altra* anthology

Friday the 19th February 2016 sees the Irish launch of Tra una vita e l’altra (Guanda, 2015) at the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin. 6.30pm. The anthology is the Italian version of Lost Between published by New Island in 2015. ALL WELCOME!

More details here.

LOST BETWEEN on ARENA & in IRISH TIMES

Catherine Dunne and Nuala Ní Chonchúir will be on Arena on RTÉ Radio 1 tonight to discuss the Italo-Irish Literature Exchange English language anthology, Lost Between (New Island). Tune in here or listen to the podcast from tomorrow.

The Irish Times featured Catherine and Federica Sgaggio's forward to Lost Between yesterday. You can read it here.

There is an Italian language anthology, a companion volume, forthcoming in November from Guanda in Italy.

LOST BETWEEN LAUNCH

You are cordially invited to the launch of Lost Between: Writings on Displacement on Thursday the 16th of July at 6.30pm in the Irish Writers' Centre.

A description of the anthology from the New Island website:

'Lost Between features a host of established and emerging writers from the immense literary landscapes of both Ireland and Italy. From a father and son emigrating from Famine-stricken Ireland in search of a better life, to a donor looking for meaning in a lost relationship with his son, to Belfast in the turbulent year of 1976, the stories and poems featured in this anthology touch on the sense of displacement that stems from migration, detachment and rapidly shifting social identities. The individual works stand proudly by themselves to leave a lasting impression, and when read together they emerge to form a diverse, soulful and evocative collection that will charm and inspire.'

From the Foreword by Catherine Dunne and Federica Sgaggio:

‘All writing is an act of translation – the translation of experience into words, into image and metaphor. The fifteen writers whose work forms this anthology take displacement as their theme and their writing is a rich mix of poetry and prose, their approaches as diverse as the writers themselves.’

DAY 1 - THE EMBASSY IN ROME

Our day 1 report comes from Liz McManus:

Wednesday the 4th June 2014

5am, Dublin airport, Here we are bleary-eyed and decidedly not bushy-tailed: six writers and Valerie, our intrepid guide, setting out on our great adventure.  Bill is arriving separately via Amsterdam. Three hours later we are negotiating a taxi, gathering up our bags and discussing the burning question as we travel to our hotel : to rehearse or not to rehearse.  In the end some do and others are already word perfect and don’t need to but we all scrub up well for our big night at the Irish embassy.

Ambassador Bobby McDonagh

Our Italian sister, Federica Sgaggio

And what a night it is!  The embassy is housed in a stunningly beautiful building, the Villa Spada, which used to be the Irish embassy to the Vatican but has been put to good use as the Irish embassy to Italy. The Ambassador and his wife overwhelm us with hospitality. The guests are a mixture of academics, arts practitioners, business people and old friends like John McCourt who runs the excellent James Joyce School in Trieste.

Sarah Cooney, Second Secretary, William Wall, writer, Valerie Bistany, Director of the Irish Writers' Centre

We all read magnificently as the only the Magnificent Seven can, The audience clap. Valerie opens proceedings with a neat explanation of what the IILE is all about,  Federica - looking like a film star from La Dolce Vita – gives an emotionally charged speech and then we all retire happily onto the terrace to drink and talk into the night.

Writer Mia Gallagher in the Villa Spada

Liz McManus, reading at the Villa Spada

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE IWC ON THE ITALY TRIP

Fourth year of Italo Irish Literature Exchange is celebrated by three publications

Next week (4–10 June) marks the fourth year of the Italo Irish Literature Exchange (IILE). Organised by the Irish Writers’ Centre and its Italian counterpart, ònoma, the IILE enables Irish and Italian writers to take part in readings, workshops, discussions, educational visits and other cultural events in both countries. This fourth year is significant in that it is the first time that publications will emerge as a result of the exchange:
30 May, marks the launch of Inkroci, a new online magazine that showcases works by the participating Irish authors
Ugo Guanda Editore will publish an Italian version of the works of Irish and Italian participants in book form (2015)
New Island Books will publish an English language version of the works of Irish and Italian participants in book form (2015)

The make-up of both the Irish and Italian groups is designed to showcase a mix of emergent and established writers in a range of genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, drama, screenplay, non-fiction and political satire. Among the themes to be discussed with Italian IILE writers and audiences will be the importance of place and identity; migration; the role of writers and writing in responding to the political and economic crises facing Italy and Ireland; the challenges and opportunities facing publishers and writers in both countries in the digital age; and the establishment of further cultural links between Ireland and Italy.

This year’s group includes: - Mia Gallagher - Fabio Bussotti - Sean Hardie - Gaja Cenciarelli - Afric McGlinchey - Francesca Melandri - Liz McManus - Giulio Mozzi - Noel Monahan - Ivano Porpora - Nuala Ní Chonchúir - Federica Sgaggio - William Wall - Gianpaolo Trevisi - Fabio Viola
There have been three visits to date under the IILE banner, two by Italian authors to Dublin (in 2011 and 2012) and one return visit by Irish authors to Verona (in 2012) with the support of Culture Ireland and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Dublino. The 2014 trip to Italy represents the return journey of the second incarnation of the IILE, a venture which was spearheaded by writer and former board member of the Irish Writers’ Centre, Catherine Dunne.

The itinerary begins in Rome with a welcome reception and readings in the Irish Embassy, then moves onto the town of Sant’Agata de’ Goti (Campagnia) to meet and exchange with the ònoma writers under the IILE banner. Then, the Irish writers will move onto Lugo and Bologna for events and cultural interchange with translators and other members of the literary society. We are truly delighted to take part in this year’s Italo Irish Literature Exchange (IILE) and are grateful to all of our funders, particularly Culture Ireland, for this opportunity.

INKROCI FEATURES IRISH EXCHANGE WRITERS

On Wednesday morning, while the rest of you sleep, seven Irish writers will board a plane to Roma. We will travel from Rome to Sant' Agata to Lugo and Bologna. Yes, we are finally heading off and it is hard to believe the time has come. We are all very excited about meeting our fellow writers in Italy, as well as meeting students and reading for the Irish Ambassador to Rome, among other events.

In the meantime, we are featured in the Italian literary magazine, Inkroci. See our work here.

OUR FUNDIT VIDEO!

FUNDIT FOR ITALY

This blog may have been idle but we have not - we are busy planning our trip to Italy, and the finances we need, and to that end, we have set up a FundIt campaign. All help appreciated!

FIRST PLANNING MEETING - ITALY 2014

We - the Irish part of the Italo-Irish Literature Exchange - had our first planning meeting on Saturday 7th September at the Irish Writers' Centre.

Writer Catherine Dunne, a founder of the exchange who took part in the 2012/2013 events, met with us to guide us as we plan our trip to Italy. As did IWC Chairman Jack Gilligan.

The seven writers chosen for next year's exchange are: Mia Gallagher, Noel Monahan, William Wall, Liz McManus, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Afric McGlinchey and Seán Hardie. (See the 'Meet the Writers' links in the sidebar on the right, on this blog, to learn more about each writer.)

Liz McManus was appointed Group Leader and she will liaise with our Italian counterparts in Onoma on all aspects of organising our trip and the events we will take part in in Italy.

Nuala Ní Chonchúir was appointed Secretary and she will keep this blog up-to-date and provide minutes from the meetings.

Items discussed at our inaugural meeting included: funding the trip (grants and fundraising possibilities); pinning down our travel dates (most likely we will travel in May 2014); having our work available in Italian in a booklet at our events; the types of events we want to stage in Italy to showcase Irish writing; whether we will adopt a theme for our trip; structuring our days while in Italy.

All in all, it was a very productive first meeting. We learned a lot from hearing about Catherine Dunne's experience on the 2012 trip to Nogarole Rocca and Verona, and we each left with a task to complete by 30th September.