FESTIVAL BLOG

This event was a real surprise for me. I was amazed at the visible passion, dedication and respect that emanated from Sarah, Ruth and Declan, as they discussed the writers that they’ve brought to life through studies of their literature and lives.

Following the format of readings, discussion and then Q&A with the audience, I was struck by how each of these authors was driven by the desire to make seemingly complex writers more accessible for the modern reader.

I came away intrigued and desperate to get stuck into the pages of these texts. Chairperson Evelyn Conlon summed up the event when she said “the amazing thing about this event is that when you read each book, you’ll be forced to read more.”

Sarah Bakewell on Montaigne:

Sarah discovered Montaigne’s book by accident; it was the only one she could find in English when travelling. Providing a wonderful account of Montaigne’s life, she admitted that his “inventiveness and quirkiness, with an undercurrent of skepticism” compelled her to write about his essays. He “used the world to read himself” and “was aware of his own flaws” she explained. This is certainly something any reader can identify with. One thing that particularly struck me was the opportunity to read about the writers that he read. This gives Sarah’s book an unusually special cyclical quality.

Audience question: “If you hadn’t picked up the Montaigne book at the airport, what would you be doing now?”

Sarah: “That’s a great question. I have no idea. Sometimes things choose people. Making choices and taking paths absentmindedly is one of the great mysteries of life. We should let the world be, rather than theorizing. Montaigne is described as a philosopher, but he wasn’t prescriptive, he just wanted to improve and write about How to live a good life.”

Declan Kiberd on James Joyce:

Declan is well known for his “anonymous celebrity” as the Professor of English at UCD and it was an honour to listen as he gave an insight into Joyce’s life and how it affected his work. He described Ulysses as “a great work of formal audacity and brilliant language, but also on how to live life.” Declan used examples of plot, character, theme and inner dialogue to highlight how Joyce had intended Ulysses to be a book that should be accessible to everyone. He discussed Joyce’s autodidactic approach and his rejection of Bohemia, due to his belief that “art disconnected from life wouldn’t prosper.”

Audience question: Do you think that good fiction is, in fact, truth?

Declan: “Absolutely! Fiction is an absolute immersion in fact. It’s a fictional enactment, scaling reality down to make it credible.”

Ruth Padel on Darwin:

I hadn’t realized that Ruth is in fact the great granddaughter of Darwin – certainly a great motivator for writing about his life. But what amazed me was that she chose to study his life through poetry based on Darwin’s words. This is, I believe, one of the most astoundingly beautiful ideas I’ve heard of for some time. Ruth gave us a wonderful insight into Darwin’s personality, but she also revealed the “role of imagination in how he addressed the world”, bringing this to life with a reading of his reaction to seeing phosphorous on the water for the very first time.

Audience question: Are poetry and science linked?

Ruth: “Poetry and science are closely connected because they have the same aim; to present the world to others. The difference is that scientists never get to the truth because they’re always looking for the next answer.”

I’d like to start off with a thank you to Paul Brady for coming to the Dublin Writers Festival and providing such a wonderful evening. Despite the fact that he found it difficult to be there, due to what he described as “an inability to deconstruct what I do”, Brady gave an outstanding and warm performance, providing an excellent insight into his artistic talents as both singer and songwriter.

Music reaches people the world over and Brady’s performance encapsulated what is special about the art of singing. He punctuated heartfelt and interesting conversation with acoustic interludes, a Q&A session and finished up with a few audience requests, remaining warm and convivial throughout. Brady even gave advice to a singer/songwriter in the audience – a gesture which was much appreciated and which underpins the whole ethos of the Dublin Writers Festival.

John Kelly was an excellent host for the evening, matching Brady in wit, passion for music and knowledge of the industry. It’s impossible to give an entire account here, but I’ve a few snippets which will give you a flavour of the evening.

Connection with music

Brady explained that he has always had an instinctive and intuitive relationship with music, which “provided a touchstone, a sense of belonging which gave me an understanding of the world.” Brady says that he soaked up so much music, especially during the 60´s “which was a million different colours”, that it became easy for him to write his own compositions; “I just had to sit one influence long enough to come up with my own melodic structure.”

Connection with words

It took a lot longer for Brady to relate to words, especially poetry, because he “immediately heard the effort involved in the making of it, whereas songs seemed spontaneous and unfettered.” He began to write poetry for competitions in secondary school, but music remained the underlying interest; we were treated to his first published poem from his school magazine, based on the November 19^th 1963 Beatles performance in Dublin.

On the early days

“I cringe now when I hear my early songs with The Johnstons” says Brady, as the audience loudly disagrees. He continues “I moved on to play lots of traditional music in the 70´s and it took a long time for me to come up with something that I wanted to sing. I was learning lots of instruments and was completely enthralled and captivated by traditional music.” It was after several meetings with The Humblebums and listening to Gerry Rafferty that Brady rediscovered his desire to start writing again. Getting tired of the structural and harmonic limitations of traditional music, he decided to return to creating his own songs.

Songwriting

Brady was reluctant to discuss his creative process too deeply, saying “because I still don’t know how to do it.” However, passion and dedication showed themselves as major ingredients as he gave an overview of the process. “First I get the tune which I fall in love with, then I get some lines or a few lyrics. In the song Mother and Son on my new album, I had these lyrics for ten years but I had to wait until any frustration and anger went before I could write the song. I get hooked by the song when I feel strongly about the tune.” Interestingly enough, he doesn’t have any form of routine when it comes to songwriting, other than booking some time away from performances to shape his ideas into new songs.

There is so much more that I could discuss, such as Brady’s love of co-writing, the inspiration behind some of his songs and his thoughts on various pop artists, but I’d like to finish up by reiterating how special the evening was. Every audience member that I spoke to afterwards was elated – and you can’t ask for much more than that.

Welcome to this year’s official Dublin Writers Festival blog.

Elizabeth Rose Murray is returning as our official Festival Blogger; keeping you up to date with festival news, introducing you to the authors and blogging each event. There’ll be reviews, quotes, interviews, and more. Make sure you keep your eye on the blog for special offers and the details on how to win free event tickets.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, post them in the comments sections below. We’d love to hear what you have to say.