Two illustrated talks on poetry, history, spirituality and ecology

POET James Harpur will give two illustrated talks in Ballydehob as part of Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies’ outreach programme.

James, who is visiting writer in residence at the TCMRS, will visit the Working Artist Studios to talk about how our rivers, lakes, wells and other waterways can be protected by the poetic imagination. He will also explore how poetry and stories and other forms of art can stop the unnecessary destruction of ancient and beloved trees. Both talks are illustrated and there will be time for comment and discussion afterwards.

James said he was delighted to be giving the talks at the Working Artist Studios, which he described as the town’s “artistic hub.”. Trinity’s Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies was founded by Sarah Alyn Stacey, head of French at the college, and is the cultural dynamo of college, embracing history, the arts, spirituality and ecology from ancient times to the present. As writer in residence there, James has been giving talks to members of the college and the public, and also focusing on his own work.

“I have two projects on the go at the moment – translations of love poems by the great French Renaissance poet, Pierre de Ronsard; and my own narrative poem based around a pilgrimage made by an Iceland monk to Rome in 1154,” he explained. A member of Aosdána, James has published 12 books of poetry, most recently A Place Where Ireland Is Invisible and The Gospel of Gargoyle, both with Eblana Press, a niche arthouse publisher in Ballydehob.

“I was lucky to meet the artist and poet Paul Ó Colmáin some years ago and discover that we both have a fascination for Irish Dark Age saints,” said James. “So we decided to do a book together, of my sonnets and his wood engravings, bringing to life important moments in the lives of saints such as Gobnait and Kevin, Ita and Patrick. “The Gospel of Gargoyle was a departure for me. Set on the rooftops of Notre-Dame Cathedral after the great fire of 2019, the book features an animate gargoyle who actually appeared to me in a dream. His dialogues – sometimes humorous, sometimes reflective – with an Irish poet form the basis of the story. The book quickly sold out its first print-run, but I’m glad to say more copies are on the way.”

For the two talks in Ballydehob, James will be showing how we live in a holistic world and how important the imagination is in approaching ecological issues. “Nothing will change until we, as a species, change. And that won’t happen without a sudden ingress of the imagination,” he mused. “If we can really feel that trees, for example, are living things with consciousness, then we would treat them with more respect. Likewise with rivers and lakes. “My talks are fully illustrated and include paintings and extracts from poems. Art is the great conduit of the imagination and it is the way we can enter into the soul of nature.”

The talks take place at WAS on Main Street, Ballydehob, from 5pm to 6.30pm on Friday October 16 (What Mystery Pervades a Well: water as a sacred myster, or a secular dumping ground?) and Friday October 23 (Slaughter of the Innocents: how the poetic imagination can help safeguard our ancient and beloved trees). Admission is free but donations are welcome. Space is limited: to reserve a place contact Paul Ó Colmáin at [email protected]/[email protected].