26 July 2011

Irish Guests at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival


Although The Wild Geese contributed to many communities across the world, their Irish identity is part of the heart of the story. It came to embody their hopes and dreams, and sparked a culture that can be found in many different countries.

Literature has been a significant part of Irish identity for centuries, and the international fascination with the literature that has been inspired by Ireland continues to this day.

At the Bumbershoot Festival this year - which takes place in Seattle, Washington on Labor Day weekend - a group of three contemporary Irish writers will be discussing 'how the romanticism and legend of Dublin has impacted their own writing'.


Chris Binchy, Kevin Holohan and Claire Kilroy will all come together on September 5th. All three currently live in Dublin, and the city is woven into many of their works - in some cases becoming such a prominent backdrop that the capital is anthropomorphised into a multi-layered character of its own.

Chris Binchy used his experiences as a chef to build up a working Dublin with many different faces in The Very Man:



Although The Wild Geese dreamed of returning to Ireland, in a sense, they brought the cultural influence of the country with them. Living in contemporary Dublin is a prevalent experience for writers and images of the city can clearly inform their writing, and fuels the fascination with Irish culture that began after the migration of 1691. 

No comments:

Post a Comment