Irish PEN would like to wish all its members and associates a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Productive New Year in 2010. 2009 has been busy, with packed house events and lots of interesting speakers, panel discussions and a debate, and we look forward to you joining us for an equally great line-up planned for the upcoming year.

The Irish PEN Award for Contribution to Irish Literature 2009

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the winner of the 2009 Irish PEN Award for Contribution to Irish Literature is Brendan Kennelly.

Poet, personality, raconteur and professor, Brendan has published over 30 books of poetry, which most famously include ‘Cromwell’ (1983/1987), ‘The Book of Judas’ (1991), ‘Poetry me Arse’ (1995) and recent publications ‘Familiar Strangers: New and Selected Poems 1960-2004’ (Bloodaxe, 2004) and ‘Now’(Bloodaxe, 2006).

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SPRING NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2008

As we draw to the end of another year, we on the committee of Irish Pen would like to say a heartfelt thanks to all our members and associate members, who have supported the organization throughout the year. We would also like to thank our many guest-speakers, who have given of their time and talent for our monthly events. As usual, we have had many stimulating and enjoyable evenings, mostly extremely well attended, in the United Arts Club. And we will have more, before the year is out. So please keep attending!

Irish Pen is run by a voluntary committee. We are very lucky indeed to have the use of the United Arts Club, a lovely venue, full of charm and character (and with a bar!) in which to hold our meetings. But we have no secretariat and no office – the committee handles everything. For the Chairperson, in particular – Catherine Daly – Pen is a demanding commitment. We all owe Catherine a huge debt of gratitude for her sterling work during the past year. And thanks to all the committee members who have, in many different ways, kept Irish PEN going all year.

WHAT DOES IRISH PEN DO?
Irish PEN organizes a series of events which take place, usually on the first Thursday of every month, from September to May, in the United Arts Club. These events take the form of discussions about writing, advice sessions on publishing, readings, and interviews with celebrated writers. This year, for instance, we have had great evenings with Roddy Doyle and John Boyne, an evening on ‘how to get published’, a discussion on ‘Why Write in Irish’, among others. On 10th April we will have a panel discussion on the topic ‘What Readers Want’, with four exciting speakers. Our guest speaker at the AGM in May will be one of our most celebrated novelists, Colm Toibin.

Irish PEN in collaboration with sponsors AT CROSS also organizes the annual Irish Pen A T Cross Award for Irish Literature. This prestigious award is made to an Irish writer in recognition of a major contribution to Irish literature. It is presented at a gala dinner, held for the past several years in the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire. This is an important prize and a popular event, which Irish literary life would be the poorer without.

Irish PEN has many other responsibilities. We are in liaison with International PEN, and participate occasionally in international projects – for instance, the PEN Poem Relay, about which you can read more in this Newsletter. We are also invited annually to nominate an Irish writer for consideration by the Swedish Academy (which awards of the Nobel Prize of Literature).

IRISH PEN NEEDS YOU!
Our AGM is coming up in May. If you have a little time to spare, and are interested in helping PEN, please consider putting your name forward for the committee. Don’t take Irish PEN for granted. It is an active organization which has achieved a lot over the past few years – and it has been in existence since the 1920s when Lady Gregory founded the branch. Ireland still needs Irish PEN – indeed, it would be shameful if we did not have a branch of PEN in this country. But without active members and a dedicated committee, it can’t do much. Consider becoming involved, if only for a year or two! Don’t take it easy and let someone else do the work – believe us, we would all rather write our novels and poems than write newsletters, stuff envelopes, and organize campaigns and dinners. But somebody has to do it. It could be you!

PEN CROSS DINNER 2008
The Pen Cross Award for 2008 was made to the playwright Thomas Kilroy. A special Irish PEN award, in recognition of his unique contribution to Irish literary life, was made to David Marcus. Thomas Kilroy and his wife, Julie, and David Marcus and his wife, Ita Daly, attended the dinner to receive their awards. The citations were made by Jennifer Johnston, for Thomas Kilroy, and William Wall, for David Marcus. Very special guests included Seamus and Marie Heaney, as well as Caroline Walsh and her husband James Ryan, Gerald and Dorothea Dawe, Ciaran Carty of the Sunday Tribune. Many PEN members attended event which is the highlight of the PEN year.
It received considerable publicity in the media.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS- click here for details

Irish PEN A T CROSS AWARD 2009
It is time to start thinking about the PEN CROSS award for 2009, which will be presented early in 2009.
We are now inviting nominations.

The PEN CROSS award is made to a writer of strong reputation in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Irish literature.
Previous winners have been: William Trevor, Seamus Heaney, Edna O’Brien, Jennifer Johston, Neil Jordan, Brian Friel, Maeve Binchy and Thomas Kilroy.
(So do not nominate one of them). All nominations will be very much appreciated and considered by the executive committee.
NB. This is a golden opportunity for you to express your admiration for an Irish writer. You won’t be asked for suggestions for the Booker Prize, or any of the other big literary prizes, but we are inviting you to tell us who you think should win the PEN CROSS award. Why not respond to the invitation? All it takes is some enjoyable musing, and a stamp (there will be a nomination form in your posted newsletter) or an email to irishpen@ireland.com.

THE PEN POEM RELAY
2008 INTERNATIONAL PEN CHINA CAMPAIGN
As you know, this year the Olympic Games are to be held in Beijing, in China, a country which has a record of serious human rights abuses. The freedom of expression which Irish writers take for granted is not enjoyed by Chinese writers. In a project known as the Poem Relay, spearheaded by the Australian branch of PEN, PEN seeks to raise awareness about lack of freedom of expression in China in a uniquely PEN way – using poetry.
PEN centres around the world have translated one short poem, ‘June’ (Liuyue) by the Chinese journalist and poet Shi Tao, who has been imprisoned for ten years for a minor charge related to alleged release of ‘state secrets’.
This poem will be sent around the world, on a journey which parallels the journey of the Olympic torch, beginning on the 30th March, the day on which the Olympic torch was lit, and ending in Beijing in June, when the Games begin. New translations, in the various languages of the world, including many of its threatened minority languages, will be added as the poem makes its journey, virtually, from country to country. The translations can be viewed and the progress of the poem followed on this website:
www.penpoemrelay.org

Shi Tao’s poem has been translated to Irish for Irish PEN by Celia de Freine. We are most grateful to Celia for completing this beautiful translation at very short notice for us. Celia’s version of the Chinese poem will go online on the 6th April, as the contribution of our Irish branch of PEN to this project.

Welcome to a new season of Irish Pen! We hope you all had an enjoyable summer, wherever you happened to be, and are rested and ready for a creative and productive autumn. Irish Pen has a strong schedule of events which will inspire and entertain you from now until next May. As usual, we are extremely grateful to the writers, publishers, journalists and others who, when asked to perform on our monthly Thursday events, almost invariably answer ‘Yes’. Thank you to all of those who made last year so enjoyable and thanks in advance to those who have agreed to read and talk to us in the forthcoming months.

CONGRATULATIONS ! To Anne Enright on her shortlisting for the Booker Prize! Anne Enright gave us a wonderful evening on 10th May, when she spoke with her usual spirit and frankness about her life and her writing, and read from her latest novel, The Gathering. This brilliantly written novel about the fortunes of an Irish family over the course of a century exposes, with sharp insight and great humour, the dark and light side of domestic life in this country. It is not a totally original topic, but it is treated in a way which is utterly original. The Gathering is Anne Enright’s best novel to date, which is saying a lot, and it is one of the best Irish novels of recent times, in our view. Anne Enright’s voice is unique; every line she writes gleams with honesty, and often with mischievousness. The novel has the ring of authenticity and deserves to win the Booker Prize, which we trust it will.

COMMITTEE 2007-2008 At the annual general meeting in May, Catherine Daly was elected chairperson of Irish Pen. The following were elected to the committee: Éilís Ní Dhuibhne (secretary), Anne Hartigan (joint secretary), Marita Conlon McKenna (treasurer). Jenny Purcell, Sarah Webb, Father Anthony Gaughan, and Desmond Traynor. There is room on the committee for another associate member to represent associates. Anyone interested should contact a member of the committee at one of the talks or by e-mail.

EVENTS
As usual, Irish Pen will meet once a month, usually on Thursdays 8pm, in the Irish Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street. The following events will take place in 2007:
Thursday 11th October
John Boyne, winner of the Bisto Book of the Year Award 2007, among other prestigious awards, and author of the best-selling novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, will entertain in conversation with Robert Dunbar.
Thursday 8th November
Martina Devlin, Denise Deegan and Clare Dowling read from their latest work and discuss their writing life.
Thursday 13th December
The Irish Pen annual Christmas meeting, at which we are delighted and honoured to have as our guest reader and speaker the greatest novelist of Dublin after Joyce, none other than Roddy Doyle.
Thursday 10th January
An evening devoted to getting published. Panellists to be confirmed.

PEN DINNER AND CROSS PEN AWARD
The great event of the year in Irish Pen is the presentation of the Irish Pen-AT Cross award at the annual dinner. This year, the dinner will be held, as usual, at the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire. The date is 1st February 2008.The winner of the award, whose name will be announced later, will receive the Irish Pen-AT Cross Trophy. Booking form will be available with next newsletter.

MEMBERS PUBLICATIONS
Many members of Irish Pen have new books out this autumn:
Roddy Doyle, The Deportees. Cape
Sarah Webb, When the Boys are Away. Pan Macmillan.
Mum’s the Word. Compiled by Sarah Webb. New Island (In aid of the National Children’s Hospital)
Jennifer Johnston, Foolish Mortals. Headline Review.
Lia Mills, In Your Face. Penguin Ireland
With a Little Help from my Friends. Compiled by Melissa Hill. Poolbeg. (In aid of Irish Hospice Foundation)
Clare Dowling, No strings Attached Headline
Deirdre Purcell, Follow me Down to Dublin. Hodder Headline
Benjamin Black, The Silver Swan. Pan Macmillan
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Fox Swallow Scarecrow. Blackstaff Press

If you have a forthcoming publication, please let us know by e-mailing details to Irish Pen, irishpen@ireland.com and we can then list it in the newsletter.

Obituary:
Irish PEN says a fond farewell to Pat Connole, an honorary life-time member and former committee member who died a few weeks ago. An Australian who eventually came to make his home in Seapoint, Blackrock with his wife Detta, Pat was a friend to all. He served on the committee for a number of years. He was always ebullient and enthusiastic and full of stories with his writing and plays and big historical novels set in Australia. He organised a wonderful Australian/ Irish night of writing and culture a few years ago. A former teacher and Christian Brother, he had worked in Australia and New Guinea, and made a huge contribution to education in his homeland. He came to Ireland and ended up marrying his beloved Detta and teaching in CBC Monkstown. A rich and rare character Pat will never be forgotten by his many friends in Ireland and Australia.