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Our
fate is inextricably linked to the environment.
We must stop seeing ourselves as somehow
above or separate from it
Pierre Rabhi
Dear
public, dear friends,
Thanks
to your unwavering support, the Franco-Irish Literary Festival has
continued year-on-year to make its mark in Dublin. Having reached the
age of 21 – some of our French friends may not know that this is
considered a milestone birthday in Ireland – the Festival enters a new
decade with confidence, and we warmly invite you all to join us at our
2021 event. In fact, we will be bringing you the 2020 edition as we did
not have the chance last year as a result of the health Crisis.
Since
its foundation, Alliance Française Dublin
and the
French Embassy
have jointly organised the Festival in pursuit of the same objective:
to develop and strengthen links between Ireland and France. The
Festival thus offers the public an opportunity to discover contemporary
Irish and French literature, and provides a showcase for the authors
taking part. It also fosters the creation of links between all those
involved in the literary sector in the broader sense, including
writers, publishers and translators.
Continuing
the tradition of encounters and exchanges, the 2021 edition will offer
the chance to engage in a convivial setting, with Irish and
French-speaking authors in the form of round tables, discussions and
readings, scheduled over the course of two days. On the other hand, it
will unfortunately not be possible this year to interact with the
writers and so there will be no signing of books.
This
year, discussions will focus on new ecological and environmental
approaches in literature. Together we will reflect on the climate
emergency and its dramatic consequences for the most vulnerable
populations, a society more conscious of animal rights and the
increasingly rapid disappearance of biodiversity threatening the
survival of humankind. These themes, alongside others which – at first
glance – may seem less directly related, will be addressed by the Irish
and French-speaking writers invited to participate. These exchanges
will feed into the reflections being undertaken not just collectively
but by each and every one of us, in a context of growing awareness and
resistance, but also denial and surprisingly retrograde steps taken by
some of those in power.
We
owe the success of the Festival and its development over the last
twenty years to the writers, artists and loyal public who have made it
all possible, as well as the many partners and sponsors who support us
and whose wonderful generosity we gratefully acknowledge. We wish to
thank the
Arts Council,
Literature Ireland,
DCU,
Maynooth University, Trinity College, UCD,
University of Limerick and a number of French
and Irish businesses, with very special mentions to the French
laboratories
Servier Monde
and to
Dublin Castle,
whose support has been unwavering since the very first year of our
event. We are also grateful to the Association Internationale des Études Québécoises and the Québec Government Office in London,
which for several years have made it possible for us to invite guests
from the other side of the Atlantic, as well as the press and media of
all kinds that promote the Festival, which has become such a cultural
highlight in
Dublin, UNESCO
City of Literature.
We
look forward to seeing you all on 15, 16 and 17 April!
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