TIGH LITRÍOCHTA
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Welcome to the Munster Literature Centre Founded in 1993, the Munster Literature Centre (Tigh Litríochta) is a non-profit arts organisation dedicated to the promotion and celebration of literature, especially that of Munster. To this end, we organise festivals, workshops, readings and competitions. Our publishing section, Southword Editions, publishes a biannual journal, poetry collections and short stories. We actively seek to support new and emerging writers and are assisted in our efforts through funding from Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland. Originally located in Sullivan's Quay, the centre moved to its current premises in the Frank O'Connor House (the author's birthplace) at 84 Douglas Street, in 2003. In 2000, the Munster Literature Centre organised the first Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival, an event dedicated to the celebration of the short story and named for one of Cork's most beloved authors. The festival showcases readings, literary forums and workshops. Following continued growth and additional funding, the Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award was introduced in 2005, coinciding with Cork's designation as that year's European Capital of Culture. The award is now recognised as the single biggest prize for a short story collection in the world and is presented at the end of the festival. In 2002, the Munster Literature Centre introduced the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland's most accomplished story writers and theorists. This too is presented during the FOC festival. The centre also hosts the Cork Spring Literary Festival each year. Workshops are held by featured authors in both autumn and spring, allowing the general public to receive creative guidance in an intimate setting for a minimal fee. In addition, the centre sponsors a Writer in Residence each year. We invite you to browse our website for further information regarding our events, Munster literature, and other literary information. Should you have any queries, we would be happy to hear from you.
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Richesses: Francophone Songwriter Poets
Songwriters who work in English whose lyrics are respected in the world of mainstream poetry are few (Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave come quickly to mind) but in French there is a much stronger tradition of a crossover between the two arts. In a dual-language anthology, Richesses assembles a selection of the most important practitioners, rendered into Aidan Hayes’s much praised English translations. Translations of Léo Ferré, Barbara, Félix Leclerc, Jacques Bertin, Gilles Vigneault, Jacques Brel and Anne Sylvestre.
Selected Poems from Richesses
Rutebeuf (Léo Ferré)pour les copains de Lyon
What have my friends become That I had held so near And strongly loved They've been blown away It was the wind lifted them Love's no more
Friends borne away by the wind The wind at my dooor Time strips the trees And no leaf remains secure
With poverty that brings me low Coming at me from every hand These winter days It is better I should not say How I came to shame By what ways
What have my friends become That I had taken to heart And loved so well They are blown away The wind's whipped them Love's no more
Evil being unable to travel solo All that was to fall on my head Is with me now Poor senses and poor memory The gifts the King of Glory's given me And poor returns
And when the north wind rises It scours me It ventilates me Love's no more Friends borne away by the wind The wind at my door Hopes for tomorrow These are my feast days
(Rutebeuf, troubadour– 13th century)
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Nantes (Barbara)
It is raining on Nantes Give me your hand The Nantes sky Makes my heart morose
On a morning like this one Just a year ago already The city looked pale When I came out of the station Nantes was then unknown to me I had never come to the city It had taken that message For me to make the journey Madam be at the appointed place 25 Wolfbarn Street Be quick there's little hope He has asked to see you
iAt the time of his final time After years and years of straying He came straight back into my heart His cry tore the silence open Since he had gone away For a long time I had kept hopes of him This wanderer this vanished one And now he had come back to me 25 Wolfbarn Street I'm remembering the appointed place And I have engraved in my memory That bedroom at the bottom of a corridor
Seated near a fireplace I saw four men stand up The light was white and cold They were wearing Sunday clothes I asked no questions Of these strange companions I said nothing but from their faces I understood it was too late And yet I was at the appointed place 25 Wolfbarn Street But he never did see me again He had already disappeared
There you know the story now He had come back one evening And it was his last journey And it was his last shoreline He wanted before dying To warm himself by my smile But he died that same night With no I love you no goodbye On the path that runs beside the sea Lying in a garden of stones I want him to rest peacefully I lad him underneath the roses My father my father
It is raining on Nantes And I am remembering
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Fable (Jacques Bertin)
In the fist there is a bird A bird a cry (That's a word) And the first is a bird but it's a word A bird is contingent It is somewhere at the term of its flight A cry is a bird it's a liar A fist is a gesture it's a bird Their necks must be cut before they have opened their wings Copyright ©2008 Aidan Hayes
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Read Southword Journal Online
Supplement 18 now online.
Sean Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition
now closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.
Best Irish Poetry in English 2010
Visit our bookstore here.
Poetry International.org
The Munster Literature Centre produces the Irish section of this prestigious poetry site. Current featured poets are from Landing Places, the new Dedalus anthology of immigrant poets. For further information, please visit the site at www.poetryinternational.org.
Festivals
The Munster Literature Centre hosts two annual festivals. The larger Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival takes place each September, while the Cork Spring Literary Festival, with varying themes, is presented each spring. Further information is available on our drop down menus.
Workshops
Workshops in poetry and fiction run in Spring and Winter at MLC. Contact Jennifer for more information.
Munster Literature Centre
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©2009 The Munster Literature Centre |
Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork, Ireland. Tel. (353) 021 4312955, Email: munsterlit(AT)eircom(DOT)net |
Irish Registered Charity No.12374 |
