It’s always good to be asked back by a festival. Banter had a fantastic time (and a hectic 24 hours) at the Cúirt Interational Festival of Literature ast year and it’s great to be going back to Galway later this month for this year’s festival.
The Banter business at Cúirt involves an interview with author and journalist David Sax about food fads on the back of his excellent book The Tastemakers: Why We’re Crazy for Cupcakes, But Fed up with Fondue. In the book Sax talks to the farmers, chefs, store owners and data analysts who help decide on and create food trends and fads. It’s a book which is full of entertaining stories and surprising truths about what we eat, how we eat it and why. Banter with David Sax takes place at Busker Browne’s, Galway on Saturday April 25 at 11am and admission is €10.
Aside from that, I’m also hosting two public interviews at Cúirt. The first is An Evening With Irvine Welsh which will feature the author of such groundbreaking and shapeshifting books as Trainspotting, Filth, Glue, Porno and Skagboys read from and talk about his new book A Decent Ride (as well as talk about other stuff too). You’ll find Welsh at the Town Hall Theatre on Friday April 24 at 8.30pm and admission is €15
The other interview is with Lawrence Hill about his book Blood. In it, Hill writes about the history of blood with great erudition and perception from many different angles, from social and scientific to the role of blood in history and culture to, perhaps the most fascinating angle, his own background and health. This event takes place at An Taibhdhearc on Saturday April 25 at 4pm and admission is €8.
You’ll find the full Cúirt programme here. Other highlights to catch the eye include Josephe O’Neill in conversaton with Edel Coffey (Town Hall Theatre, Friday April 25), Jenny Offill and Evie Wyld in conversation with Sinead Gleeson (Town Hall Theatre, Friday April 25), Paul Durcan (Town Hall Theatre, Tuesday April 22) and an Arena special with poets Jane Hischfield and Micheál O’Siadhail and writer Miranda Hill (Town Hall Theatre, Thursday April 24).