Two Writers for Galway's Wetside Library, July 24th

galway | arts and media | event notice Friday June 29, 2007 12:37 by Western Writers' Centre - Western Writers' Centre - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maud, Galway westernwriters at eircom dot net 34 Nuns Island, Galway 091.533594

Novelist Fred Johnston and playwright Gerry McDonnell for Westside Library Readings.

Galway’s Westside Library are hosting two well-known writers for a reading on Tuesday 24th July, starting at 6.30. Admission to the readings is free.

Fred Johnston was born in Belfast in 1951 and worked for many years as a journalist, chiefly with The Irish Press and in PR. In 1972 he received a Hennessy Literary Award. With Neil Jordan and Peter Sheridan, he founded the Irish Writers’ Co-operative in the mid-Seventies and moved to Galway in 1976, where he set up a ‘Galway Writers’ Workshop’ – not to be confused with the present organization – and published a broadsheet of poetry and prose, stapled, which he sold around the pubs and shops. In 1981 he received both The Sunday Independent Prose and Poetry Awards. In 1986 he founded Cúirt, Galway’s annual literature festival. He was writer-in-residence to Galway City Library in 1988. The author of four novels and eight collections of poetry, his plays have been performed in Dublin and one in Galway. He teaches Creative Writing at NUIGalway as part of the Adult and Continuing Education Programme. Six years ago he started up the Western Writers’ Centre – Ionad Scríbhneoirí Chaitlín Maud – which is the only such centre West of the Shannon. One of its first tasks was to try to set up a writers’ group for the Westside area. In 2002 he received a Prix de l’Ambassade to translate the poetry of Michel Martin. His novel, ‘The Neon Rose,’ was recently published in the UK by Bluechrome and his new collection of poems, ‘The Oracle Room,’ will be published in the UK in September. He has written widely for radio, for RTE and the BBC World Service. He has reviewed books and visual art for Harpers & Queen, The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, among others.

Gerry Mc Donnell is a writer, poet and playwright who has written four volumes of poetry and drama for radio, TV and stage. His interests include the Irish poet James Clarence Mangan (1803 – 1849) on whom he has written a libretto for a chamber opera, a radio play and a stage play; and the Jewish community of Ireland resulting in Mud Island Elegy, a collection of poetry in which Jews in 19th century Ireland tell their stories from the grave. His most recent projects in 2007 are Featured Writer for the Week on Lyric FM, and Making It Home, a radio play broadcast on RTE 1. The readings are organised under the auspices of the Western Writers' Centre, Galway (091) 533594, with thanks to Westside Library, Galway.

Details westside@Galwaylibrary.ie - Cora Gunter

westernwriters@eircom.net - Marvelle Maguire