Bookmarked #4

Between the Red Lines, a spin-off series of events from the Red Line Book Festival brings you a brand-new programme of Irish voices this February.

22nd – 28th February, 2021

Visit: redlinebookfestival.ie

This programme is brought to you by organisers of The Red Line Book Festival and South Dublin Libraries and Arts. Events will take place over seven days to coincide with the Ireland Reads campaign – a new national day to celebrate reading.

Between the Red Lines is a brand new concept that aims to share Irish books– hot off the press – and perspectives from Irish writers; connecting them with readers here in Ireland and around the world and encouraging more people to get reading. The campaign will run throughout February, to coincide with Ireland Reads on February 25th, during the Between the Red Lines series.

Festival voices this year include: acclaimed novelist, Marita Conlon McKenna, previous Red Line Book Festival Writer-in-Residence and award-winning writer Lisa Harding, journalist and writer, Manchán Mangan, Patricia Forde, Annemarie Ni Churreáin and John Patrick McHugh among others.

Booking information: www.redlinebookfestival.ie and www.southdublinlibraries.ie

A Gap in the Clouds

Compiled around 1235, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, or Ogura’s 100 Poems by 100 Poets, is one of the most important collections of poetry in Japan.

A Gap in the Clouds is a new translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by Nell Regan and James Hadley.

“These brief but potent expressions of human feeling have not dated, not even after 1000 years”.

Available now from: https://www.dedaluspress.com/product/a-gap-in-the-clouds/

Ledbury Poetry Critics

Ledbury Poetry Critics to expand its groundbreaking mentorship programme.

Since Ledbury Poetry Critics launched its first year-long intensive mentorship programme in 2017 recruiting and mentoring 12 critics of colour, it has been responsible for increasing the visibility of poets and critics of colour. The programme was founded by Sandeep Parmar and Sarah Howe with support from Ledbury Poetry Festival. They have now been joined by co-organisers Vidyan Ravinthiran, Janine Bradbury and Alycia Pirmohamed. Dave Coates will continue his invaluable statistical work for Ledbury Critics in 2021.

Applications open on the 15th February and close on the 15th March 2021 and should be made to Sandeep Parmar Sandeep.parmar@liverpool.ac.uk

For more information about applying visit: https://www.poetry-festival.co.uk/ledbury-poetry-critics-programme/

Follow ledbury Poetry Critics on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LedburyCritics

Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang

Xuan Juliana Wang’s debut collection of short stories captures the unheard voices of an emerging generation.

“From a crowded apartment on Mott Street, where an immigrant family raises its first real Americans, to a pair of divers at the Beijing Olympics poised at the edge of success and self-discovery, Wang’s unforgettable characters – with their unusual careers, unconventional sex lives and fantastical technologies – share the bold hope that, no matter where they’ve come from, their lives too can be extraordinary”

You can order it here from goodreads here.

All My People – Maria Somerville

We introduced Connemara musician Maria Somerville’s new show The Early Bird Show in Bookmarked #2. She has also released the stunning album All My People.

“All My People channels the wilderness of the Irish landscape through dense, ethereal soundscapes, bare boned percussion and a heady electronic undertow, interspersed with ghostly vocals that are ever present and all encompassing, like crystalline glints of sunshine peeking through dark stormy clouds”.

You can buy the digital album here: https://mariasomerville.bandcamp.com/album/all-my-people