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The
7th Franco-Irish Literary Festival,
organised by the Alliance Française
Dublin and the Cultural
Service of the French Embassy, will be held on the 5th,
6th and 7th May 2006. Our partners this year are the Goethe-Institut
Dublin, the Austrian Embassy, the Instituto
Cervantes and the Délégation Générale du Québec. We have also had the invaluable support of Ireland Fund of
France, the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Foras
Na Gaeilge, Poetry Ireland, the
Irish Writers Center, Dublin City Council,
Ireland Literature Exchange, the Irish Times, the Irish
Eyes and several companies.
This
cooperation is possible due to the openness of this Franco-Irish
Festival, which will once again this year, include writers in
the Irish language, together with writers of the wider
francophone world and other European literatures.
Following
« Ecrire l’Europe, Writing
Europe » (2003), « La
mémoire aujourd’hui, Memory Now » (2004)
and « Futurs imparfaits,
Future Tenses » (2005), the Festival
concentrates this year on a more concrete and cheerful theme,
whose relevance is growing in today’s Ireland.
« Convivialité,
Living Together » relates to many aspects
of everyday life - family ties, friendship, social
relations, community life and work. It may be expressed through
the arts, communication, gastronomy and the communion of popular
religions or pagan festivals.
We
all experience a need for company, society and communication
in a spirit of warmth and sharing. It appears
that, in a world of increasing competitiveness and inequality,
the need for convivialité
is greater than ever, and that it is expressed in new ways -
ways that are not replacing but complementing the old ones. New
technology and telecommunications media are now developing
exponentially. We have seen the birth of interactive systems
that facilitate communication, strengthening social and family
bonds and friendships, in a process that is increasingly free of
time or geographical constraints.
But
the growing phenomenon of migration should also be
examined under the topic of living
together. France, which shares borders with five
countries, has experienced population movements for centuries,
especially the last. Ireland, traditionally a country of
emigration, now discovers it is becoming a country of
immigration and has to tackle this new, positive, experience.
However,
convivialité cannot
be fully explored without reflecting on what the French have
always considered to be of the utmost importance: being a « bon
vivant » - knowing how to enjoy good company around a
table, helped by a profusion of good food and wine.
How
does literature illustrate these realities ? How do words
express the warmth, colour and flavour of convivialité
? How does it differ across nationalities?
These are questions that will be addressed by the writers
participating in the 2006 Franco-Irish Literary Festival.
On
the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Samuel
Beckett in 1906, the Franco-Irish Literary
Festival 2006 will devote a session to discuss his work
during the interview with Anthony Cronin. The Festival will
actually take place between the Beckett celebrations in Ireland
(Spring) and those taking place in France (Autumn).
For
the first time this year, with the help of Writers
in Schools, six of the participating writers will go
to four schools in Dublin to talk about their work. We hope to
extend this experience next year.
Finally,
we would like to take this opportunity to express our warmest
thanks to our sponsors and patrons without whom a festival of
this nature would never be possible.
We
look forward to seeing you from the 5th to 7th of May 2006 !
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