This year’s John Hewitt Summer School has been launched in Belfast and Armagh. This will be the 37th Summer School and The Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Councillor Sarah Duffy, was the guest of honour at the Marketplace Theatre for the ceremony.
The Summer School will run from Monday July 22nd to Friday July 26th at the Marketplace Theatre. Dr Frank Ferguson, the Chair of the John Hewitt Society said “This year promises to be a fantastic mix of local and international speakers, poetry, drama, music and writing workshops. There is something for everybody and we look forward to welcoming old and new friends to the events”.
The John Hewitt International Summer School offers an exciting programme of event’s featuring a varied selection of inspirational and creative speakers who wield the power of language across the disciplines of literature, poetry, art, drama, music, and politics. Whether you’re an avid reader, aspiring writer, published writer seeking inspiration, or simply a lover of literature and the arts, there’s an event tailored to your interests.
This year’s theme is entitled “To Live Among Strangers: Diversity and a Shared Future”
It is a hard responsibility to be a stranger… “The Search”: John Hewitt, 1966
How many emigrants have found themselves in a strange place and an unfamiliar culture since John Hewitt wrote of his and Roberta’s exile in ‘Sixties Coventry, “wakening in the dark night to recall” the home they’ve left behind?
Whether fleeing war, famine, prejudice or economic hardship, thousands continually make the attempt to find a new life as migrant, refugee, asylum seeker or “illegal”, despite increasingly dangerous means of travel and frequently hostile receptions, ironically enriching the “host” country’s culture in so many ways as immigrants have done over the centuries. Join us for a week of culture and creativity that will explore and celebrate a diverse present and future.
The JHISS Festival is curated and produced annually by the John Hewitt Society. The John Hewitt Society promotes Literature, Culture and the Arts inspired by the ideas and ideals of the Belfast poet, curator, critic and political thinker John Hewitt (1907 – 1957).
The opening talk will be delivered by Professor Audrey Osler Professor Emerita of Citizenship and Human Rights Education at the University of Leeds, with other speakers featuring Professor Elaine Farrell, Professor Leanne McCormick, Sorcha Pollak and Professor Mary M. Burke.
Armagh writer, Stuart Neville will host our Crime Fiction Special with international bestselling writers Chris Brookmyre and Liz Nugent. Other celebrated authors featured this year include Kit de Waal in conversation with Paul McVeigh, Ingrid Persaud in conversation with Raquel McKee, Elaine Feeney in conversation with James Conor Patterson. Nuala O’Connor will be in conversation with Maureen Boyle. Jan Carson will host a conversation with Kevin Barry and will introduce debut novelists Aimée Walsh and Orla Mackey.
As a celebration of the fiftieth-year anniversary of the publication of John Hewitt’s Rhyming Weavers, our chair Dr Frank Ferguson will host a discussion with Dr Carol Baraniuk and Dr Kathryn White and a launch of a new edition of the collection.
To mark our new collaboration with Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann, their Chair, Catherine Dunne will introduce the Ukrainian writer and journalist Anna Romandash to speak on “War, Identity, and the Process of Reconciliation”.
The strong poetry programme lineup includes Paula Meehan, Theo Dorgan, Rachael Allen, Susannah Dickey, Adam Lowe, Mícheál McCann, Nithy Kasa, Martina Evans, Dawn Watson and Scott McKendry.
Evening entertainment will include a Chamber Music Concert, “Songs from the LAST Page…” composed and performed by Gareth Williams. “Five Days“ written by and performed by Joe Nawaz, “The Mysterious Case of Kitsy Rainey” Written and performed by Mikel Murfi “Becoming Marvellous” with Cathy Carson.
As usual there will be Creative Writing Classes, three of which are supported by The Open University. These help to develop new generations of aspiring writers, some of whom will give readings during a showcase event at the end of the Summer School.
The Visual Arts is always an important element of any John Hewitt Summer School. This year there will be an exhibition of photographs by Bruno Patron entitled “The Peace Wall” in the Market Place Gallery and “Re-Imagining Diaspora”, an exhibition of paintings and scenes by Ciaran Harper, will be on display on the Foyer Walls. Dr Dickon Hall, art dealer and consultant, will give a talk on the relationship between the painter John Middleton and John Hewitt.
No Alibis Bookstore Belfast will again provide their now familiar pop-up book stall during the week with the latest books by all the featured writers on sale. Receptions during the week are supported by the North South Ministerial Council and the Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Borough Council.
As in previous years, our Summer School has offered bursaries to enable a wide range of people to attend and appreciate this unique festival. Sponsored Bursaries are supported by Local Government Authorities, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs: Reconciliation Department, the Community Relations Council, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, individual and corporate organisations.
Our jam-packed weeklong Festival of literature, politics, culture and the arts is made possible through the partnership and assistance of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, The Open University, Irish Association, Slugger O’Toole, No Alibis Bookstore, Ulster University, The Ulster Scots Agency, advertisers, local traders and volunteers. All of this generous support is much appreciated by the John Hewitt Society especially in these challenging times for the arts.
Full details of the programme are available online at johnhewittsociety.org or at, visitarmagh.com /marketplacetheatre. Tickets can be purchased from the Market Place Theatre box office on 0330 056 1025, by email, in person or online at the above websites.
ENDS.
Contact pr@johnhewittsociety.org for further info and media enquiries.