This April, the 39th edition of Cúirt International Festival of Literature comes to Galway. The festival runs from the 23rd-28th of April and is jam packed with amazing talks and workshops. From fiction to poetry we are sure this amazing programme holds something for everyone to enjoy (check out the full programme here). Here at This is Galway we are excited for all the events but here are just some of our top picks for the International festival:
Seaborne book launch
Tuesday 23rd April/7:30pm-9:30pm/Mick Lally Theatre/ Free Ticketed
The festival kicks off with a book launch of Seaborne, from Irish Author Nuala O’Connor. The novel is an unexpected portrayal of Anne Bonny and deals with self-realisation and covers a wide array of themes from sexuality to neurodivergency. It gives so much more than the original pirate story of Bonny and will be a fantastic way to officially kick off the festival.
Frames of reference
Various dates/10:30am-11:30am/ The Mick Lally Theatre/ €8/10
Throughout the course of the festival there are multiple talks that allow you to get up and personal with the people in the publishing industry. These events, called Frames of Reference, allow you to get a deeper look at the world of literature. There will be events based around literary journals, translation, editing fiction, and poetry. They will be an amazing chance to get any questions you have answered, and a great way to gain a few tips and tricks from the professionals!
Black and Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes
Saturday 27th/ 2:30pm-3:30pm/ Town Hall Theatre/ €10/12
Cúirt invites you to the celebration of the publishing of Black and Irish: Legends, Trailblazers and Everyday Heroes. Leon Diop and Brianna Fitzsimons will be there discussing their book founded to advocate Black Irish public figures from the worlds of pop culture, politics, sport, business and the arts. The event will be an eye opening and informative talk, highlighting the important names and achievements of advocates within the Black community.
Lemn Sissay: Let the Light Pour In
Friday 26th April/ 8:30 pm-9:30pm/ Town Hall Theatre/ €16/20
Sunday Times Bestseller, Lemn Sissay is here in Galway to perform a collection of his poems Let The Light Pour In. This collection comes from decades worth of short poems Sissay wrote each morning. The event in the Town Hall Theatre will be a performance of a collection of the best of these poems. This performance will be full of wonder as we hear the words that got Sissay through dark times. This event is a once in a lifetime and not to be missed.
The Slug & the Snail An Drúchtín agus an Seilide
Saturday 27th April/10:00 am- 11:00 am/ An Taibhdhearc/ €6/8
The festival has something for everyone, including children. The Snail and the Slug is an amazing bilingual reading of a story based on the Irish travellers traditional way of storytelling. The story will be read through English and Irish and will be an amazing way for children to be exposed to the Irish language while simultaneously learning traditional Irish ways.
Palestinian Voices: N.S Nuseibeh and Rafeef Ziadah.
Sunday 28th of April/ 11:00 am-12:00 pm/ The Mick Lally Theatre/ €8/10
These two amazing women join Amanie Issa in The Mick Lally Theatre on the 28th of April to discuss their amazing work surrounding the voices of Arab women. N.S Nuseibeh writes of heritage and the idea of home, as she touches in with her ancestors in her beautiful novel Reflections on a Warrior Woman. She will be alongside Rafeef Ziadah as she speaks about her spoken word poetry and music. This event will be an opportunity to hear the voices of Palestinian women, which is so crucial in current times.
Photos courtesy of Cúirt Festival
Feature art work by Miriam de Búrca
Published on Updated on
