More than 100 poets from the 5 continents have participated every year since 1989.

The city of Trois Rivieres in on the St Lawrence seaway, half way between Montreal and Quebec. We provide travel for poets to and from Montreal airport.

There are 400 poems on walls in the city. We display 5000 in a park in the town centre during the festival.

The guest poets have only one thing to do – read their poems 2 or 3 times a day, no lectures. But they must already have at least 30 poems translated into French, as Quebec is 80% French-speaking, and our city is 99%.

One of our group will introduce the poet before the reading, read their poem in French, and then the poet will read it in his native language.

There will be about 350-400 readings of poems during the 10 day festival period,

28 September to 7 October.

More than 10000 people will attend 4-7 readings, out of the 40000 attendees.

We offer poets hospitality in a hotel, with a daily allowance for meals and another for readings.

The programme of the 27^th festival is on our website, as well as an incomplete list of previous participants.

For 2012, invitations are only offered to members of a PEN CLUB, but not in future years.

We would like to host an Irish poet every year.          Information is at link :  www.fiptr.com

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In Very Exciting News, we are delighted to announce that President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, will present Irish PEN’s Award to Joseph O’Connor on February 10th 2012, to mark his outstanding contribution to Irish Literature.

Irish PEN’s Award dinner will be held at the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dún Laoghaire.  The Committee of Irish PEN welcomes members and associates of Irish PEN, along with members of the public to come and celebrate this award to mark a terrific achievement.

The 2012 Irish PEN Dinner and Award is  open to the public  who can obtain tickets at the following eventbrite link

http://www.irishpendinner.eventbrite.com/

Author Joseph O Connor Recipient of the 2012 Irish PEN Award

In 1998 Irish PEN set up an award to honour an Irish-born writer who has made an outstanding contribution to Irish Literature. This Award is for a significant body of work, written and produced over a number of years, and is open to novelists, playwrights, poets, scriptwriters etc.

This year Irish PEN is delighted to be honouring Joseph O’Connor with the Irish PEN Award. The Award will be made on 10th February 2012 at the annual Irish PEN dinner,  held at the Royal St George Yacht  Club,  Dún Laoighre.

Members of Irish PEN, as well as previous winners nominate and vote for the candidate. In keeping with the tradition started at the W.B. Yeats dinner in 1935, the writer is presented with the Award in the company of other writers
at our annual dinner.

About Joseph O’ Connor 

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin. He is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes,  The Salesman , Inishowen , Star of the Sea  and Redemption Falls, as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction. He has also written film scripts and stage-plays including the award-winning Red Roses and Petrol.  His novel Star of the Sea was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages,  Italy’s Premio Acerbi,  the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Neilsen Bookscan Golden Book Award,  an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy / Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

He was recently voted Irish Writer of the Decade by the readers of Hot Press magazine. He broadcasts a popular weekly radio diary on RTE’s Drivetime With Mary Wilson and writes regularly for The Guardian Review and The Sunday Independent. In 2009 he was the Harman Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Baruch College, the City University of New York. His most recent novel Ghost Light was published in June 2010 to rave reviews internationally and spent nine weeks as a number one Irish besteller. It was chosen as Dublin’s One City One Book novel for 2011.

 The  2012 Irish PEN Dinner and Award is  open to the public  who can obtain tickets at the following eventbrite link

http://www.irishpendinner.eventbrite.com/ 

Cheques for Postal applications for the Irish PEN 2012 Award Dinner can be sent to :

Vanessa O ‘Loughlin  

The Old Post Office,

Kilmacanogue,

County Wicklow.

Please Confirm your payment via the following form : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/gform?pli=1&key=0Ahttw3yUnNO9dHVwV1ZUUHdveG5uZmpVNU5ldUtCdXc&hl=en#edit

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The 77^th International Pen Congress was held in Belgrade on 12-18 September 2011. Over 200 delegates and other participants attended from over 60 countries. The theme of the Congress was Literature – language of the world. In a welcoming address Vida Ognjenovic, President of the Serbian Centre, noted that people still faced discrimination and suffered from conflicts and wars. Thus the world needed a literature which would engage both at the level of creative imagination and conscience and so provide for mutual understanding. She decried the misuse of language when it became the handmaid of ‘mass media manipulation, consumption managerial pragmatism and political oppression.’ She expressed her hope that the Belgrade Congress would help to elevate literature to its pristine purpose in ensuring freedom of expression that it remained ‘alive and vital’ to that end across the world. The theme of the congress was subsequently rehearsed in the various discussions, meetings and seminars. Among these was a fascinating discussion on Swedish Pen’s strategic use of new technologies to champion freedom of expression across the Internet.

Various Committees with specific agenda held meetings. These included: Committee for Women Writers, Committee for Writers for Peace, Committee for Writers in Prison and Committee for Translation and Linguistic Rights.

The Committee for Writers in Prison highlighted the plight of Dawit Isaac in Eritrea. Owner of a weekly newspaper, playwright and writer, he was arrested in 2001. He was one of nine journalists arrested without being charged or tried, four of whom have died in custody. Isaac holds Swedish and Eritrean citizenship, yet notwithstanding the best efforts of the Swedish government and Pen, Dawit Isaac remains in prison.

The Committee discussed the organisation of an international protest at the continuing deaths of journalists and writers in Mexico. Since 2006 when President Calderon began his military campaign against the drug cartels, 34 writers (32 journalists, one author and one poet) have been murdered. While organised crime groups are mainly responsible, state agents, government officials and the police are, it seems, perpetrators of violence against journalists and complicit in its continuance. Pen groups were requested to remember Mexico’s fallen journalists and writers on 2 November 2011 in appropriate and effective ways.

The meeting was also given a fascinating account of a recent visit by a delegation from US Pen to the Republic of China. The surveillance of journalists and writers in China continues to be Orwellian. Members of the delegation were unable to meet or communicate with imprisoned Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, or even his wife.

In the light of Pen’s mission to uphold freedom of expression and freedom of speech, the Pen world family were urged to continue its concern for those not accorded that fundamental right.

J. Anthony Gaughan.

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The 90th Anniversary of International PEN occurs in 2012.
This archive piece by PEN American Center sets out some of the
history of International PEN.

International PEN  has much to celebrate with 20,000 writers in 100
countries keeping in touch through conference, committee and widespread
use of social-media. I am including as link , a monthly letter from  John Ralston Saul
to our  International PEN members.

“This past Sunday marked the birthday of English novelist, playwright, and Nobel Laureate John Galsworthy (1867–1933), the first President of PEN International and author of the first three articles of PEN’s charter. As we look forward to our 90th anniversary in 2012, we also look back to our founding principles, which were written in a period with parallels to today’s uncertain climate for free expression. ”

http://www.pen.org/blog/?p=2086

History of the PEN Charter : http://www.irishpen.com/wordpress/history-of-the-pen-charter/
Letter from John Ralston Saul to PEN members  http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/monthly-letter-from-john-ralston-saul-to-the-membership

Award winning poet and Playwright Anne Hartigan in conversation with Patrick Mason, Tony Award winning director at the Abbey Theatre.

Where: United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2

When: 8:00 – 9:30 pm

Fee: All events are €3 for members, non members welcome €5

Booking is essential!

Email: info@irishpen.com or Telephone: 087 9660770

7 pm: AGM

8:00 – 9:30 pm: We’re delighted that Joseph O’Connor will join us to provide cheer and insight, sharing from his wisdom and wit about his life as a professional author, journalist and broadcaster.

Where: United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2

When: 8:00 – 9:30 pm

Fee: All events are €3 for members, non members welcome €5

Booking is essential!

Email: info@irishpen.com or Telephone: 087 9660770

Thursday 8 December 2011: Crime Writing (fiction and true crime). Leading authors including Abigail Rieley, Sandra Mara and Arlene Hunt

Where: United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2

When: 8:00 – 9:30 pm

Fee: All events are €3 for members, non members welcome €5

Booking is essential!

Email: info@irishpen.com or Telephone: 087 9660770

Eventbrite Booking :   http://irishpencrimewriting.eventbrite.com/

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