Further Summer School information

John Hewitt’s life was dedicated, as a freethinking pacifist and egalitarian, to dismantling the barriers that divide and rule, that set those of different creed, colour, culture or class against one another. And though he did not live to see the fall of the great post-war “wall” that partitioned liberated Europe, or to see the end of racial apartheid in South Africa, we can take little pride in a world that today, 21 years since his death, still has as many walls and borders.

At a time when parts of our society still feel the need for walls, other barriers have collapsed, making migration one of the most significant changes which we are experiencing. This makes us part of a new Europe, which can be dated from the fall of the Wall, but the writing on the wall of Fortress Europe often says ‘Keep Out’. Elsewhere, walls, real and figurative, are built as quickly as they are challenged. Hewitt’s openness to ideas and influences and his belief that we should always leave ourselves open to the news of liberty provides us with the opportunity in this year’s Summer School to consider walls, barriers and boundaries of all kinds.

The 21st John Hewitt International Summer School offers a five-day get-together to those with an interest in the arts, literature, politics and debate. It brings together some of these islands’ best-known novelists, musicians, artists, poets, politicians, academics and even more contributors than ever from further afield, from every tradition, background and perspective, to debate walls, borders, ghettos, “no-go areas” and all the divisions (physical, social, economic, ethnic and historic) that tell us how poorly that longed for liberty fares even now.

There is something for everyone in our 2008 programme, whether you come along for a week, a day or for an individual event! There is, as always, a strong emphasis on poetry and among the visiting poets are Ireland’s Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney, and former American Poet Laureate, Billy Collins. The Lunchtime Readings with well-known prose writers, which have proved very popular, will continue and the programme of evening events in the main auditorium at the Market Place is the most attractive to date. We hope you find something to attract you to the 21st Summer International Summer School in Armagh for another feast of readings, talks, performances, workshops and exhibitions!