Irish spirits in book-lined Paris roomsOne of the many pleasures of being in the Irish College in Paris last week (to see Irish Times correspondent Lara Marlowe made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur) was visiting the historic library on the second floor of the famous building on Rue des Irlandais.
With 10,000 books, many bound in kid and calf leather, on its shelves, it conjures up instantly the lives of the Irish priests and seminarians who studied there since the college arrived at this premises in the mid-18th century.
A major overhaul, involving computerisation of the existing card catalogue, conservation of the books, cataloguing of the papers in the archive and improvements to environmental conditions, will, when complete, enhance the library even further.
"All of these things will allow the story of the college to be more known. It will answer questions like who the priests were who used these books, and who left them behind them here, and why they were in Paris," says director Helen Carey. Who exactly were the priests from Ferns, Ossory, Achonry, Clonfert, Elphin, Killala, Raphoe, Kilmore, Down-Conor, Clogher, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Cloyne and all the other dioceses whose names adorn the gallery that surrounds the college's courtyard? Their books may have the answer.
The oldest tomes possibly date back as far as the 16th century. Mixed in with the Irish collection are books from the Scottish and English colleges, which did not survive the French Revolution (Napoleon decided that their books should be rehoused in the Irish College).
Among the literary events coming up at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in the college are a talk on Monday at 7.30pm by Timothy O'Leary of the University of Hong Kong, focusing on Brian Friel's Translations, and a poetry reading at 7.30pm on Tuesday by Anthony Cronin, whose most recent collection is The Minotaur and Other Poems. The centre, in the Latin Quarter in the 5th arrondissement, and close to the Sorbonne, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 2pm to 6pm (Wednesdays until 8pm) and on Sundays from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. The college will be closed in August, but will reopen in September with a programme in honour of Samuel Beckett.
www.centreculturelirlandais.com
Crace notes
It's an apposite time of year to hear why sex on the beach can be so dangerous. That's one of the things writer Jim Crace (below) will be talking about at the West Cork Literary Festival next week, drawing on his unforgettable novel, Being Dead, about two dead lovers whose bodies lie decaying in the sand dunes. Fans of Crace, one of the finest British writers of his generation, will be glad to hear he's just signed a contract with Picador for three books. The first of these, The Pest House, a tale of a medieval future for the US, will be published later this year - lucky audiences in west Cork may get a sneak preview.
Jim Crace appears at 8pm on Wed at St Brendan's Church, Bantry, Co Cork (€10) and on Thur at 1 pm at Bantry Library (free). www.westcorkliteraryfestival.com for festival details; www.jim-crace.com for more about Jim Crace
Making words count
It's more than 45 years since the publication of Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), and the reclusive author - and childhood friend of Truman Capote - has hardly published a word since, though her novel remains one of the classics of the 20th century. Now Lee (80), whose portrayal in the movie, Capote, renewed interest in her, has written a piece for the July issue of O, the magazine run by Oprah Winfrey, about how she learned to love reading as a child in Alabama.
"Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cellphones, iPods and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. I prefer to search library stacks because when I work to learn something, I remember it," she writes.
She may not make pronouncements often, but when she does, they count.
Poems for Thursday
The literary journal, The Stony Thursday Book, founded in 1975, is calling for submissions from local, national and international poets for the next issue, which will be published in Limerick as part of the Cuisle International Poetry Festival in October. This year's guest editor will be Knute Skinner, whose most recent full-length collection is Stretches, published by Salmon. The closing date for submissions is August 1st, but don't go overboard - six poems is the maximum you can submit.
Details from artsoffice@limerickcity.ie (tel: 061-407363 or 061-407421)