4 November 2009

As a lover of great books I’ve always felt very proud of the rich literary tradition we have here in Ireland.

And it is, undoubtedly, thanks to authors like Sam Hanna Bell that we are internationally renowned as a place where the arts thrive. So it was fitting that on Friday 16 October, on the centenary of Bell’s birth, a distinguished crowd assembled to pay tribute to his life and work, the grand surroundings of the Linen Hall Library providing a fitting backdrop to the line-up of speeches, poetry and song.

Poet Paul Muldoon treated the crowd to a reading from his foreword to A Salute From the Banderol, describing the awe he had felt as a young BBC producer working alongside Bell, who, in fact, ‘needed no production whatsoever’ and who ‘understood more profoundly than anyone … how to combine narration, dramatic dialogue, music and sound effects to conjure mystery and magic’.

We are delighted that A Salute From the Banderol brings some of the ‘mystery and magic’ Bell brought to his work as a radio broadcaster into print for the first time by including three of his radio scripts. And you can still visit A Man Flourishing, an exhibition celebrating his legacy, running at the Linen Hall’s Vertical Gallery until 14 November.

Ireland’s continued contribution to world-class literature is the focus of The Great Irish Book Week (Saturday 24 – Saturday 31 October 2009). Thirty titles, including Blackstaff’s own Flying Finn and Tales of the Dogs, have been selected by an independent panel to give readers a taste of the fantastic range of books being published in Ireland today. If you buy any book from the list displaying a Great Irish Book Week sticker you will receive a free copy of Be Inspired – Gems from Irish Publishing – a 208-page paperback containing an extract from each of the thirty recommended reads.

I can’t think of a better way to support Ireland’s authors and publishers and of ensuring that we can continue to take pride in our nation’s literary excellence for many more years to come.

JS