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Cork Midsummer Festival and UCC spotlight leading literary voices
- Isabelle Huppert, Doireann N铆 Ghr铆ofa and Adania Shibli among the authors and artists featured in a literature programme presented by Cork Midsummer Festival and 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork.
Cork Midsummer Festival and 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork are partnering to present a literature programme for this year鈥檚 festival, bringing together leading Irish and international writers, musicians and performers through a distinctive strand of cross-artform events, performance and conversation.
The programme features , a rare live reading by acclaimed French actor Isabelle Huppert. One of the defining performers of contemporary cinema and theatre, Huppert will read selected works by Guy de Maupassant, offering audiences an intimate encounter with one of France鈥檚 great literary voices. The reading will be followed by a discussion with Isabelle Huppert facilitated by Neil Jordan, film director, screenwriter and author.
Among the highlights is a live reading and music performance from Doireann N铆 Ghr铆ofa with composer Linda Buckley, staged at Atkin's Hall, the site central to N铆 Ghr铆ofa鈥檚 new book. A graduate of UCC Bachelor of Arts and MA in Modern Irish (Nua Ghaeilge), N铆 Ghr铆ofa鈥檚 acclaimed book A Ghost in the Throat went on to be translated into 20 languages, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the James Tait Black Prize.
Internationally acclaimed Palestinian author , author of Minor Detail, will deliver a keynote lecture, entitled On Repetition and Absence. In The Glucksman, Shibli will reflect on reflecting on narrative, silence and power through her award-winning work which engages with questions of violence, justice and representation.
Building on last year鈥檚 sell-out Howl On, reunites Patrick McCabe, Michael Lightborne and David Murphy for a literary soundscape exploring memory, technology and buried histories in contemporary Ireland.
The programme also includes , a special collaboration between The Stinging Fly and Banshee Press, featuring live readings and improvised musical responses from writers and multi-instrumentalist Se谩n Mac Erlaine. Featured artists include Chetna Maroo, Billy Ramsell, Mary Dunne and Thomas Morris.
The literature strand is co-curated by , novelist, editor of The Stinging Fly and lecturer in Creative Writing at UCC, in collaboration with Cork Midsummer Festival Director Lorraine Maye.
Sean Kelly, Arts and Culture Officer at UCC, said: 鈥淏uilding on our 2025 partnership with Cork Midsummer Festival, we are once again presenting some of the world鈥檚 finest artists, on and off campus, in this unique series of events. This year, among the many highlights, is a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the great Isabelle Huppert perform in the Devere Hall. This university has a rich and deep literary heritage and we鈥檙e very proud of the fact that the programme includes UCC graduate Doireann Ni Ghriofa and Danny Denton, novelist and UCC lecturer in Creative Writing. This programme, once again, shows the best of UCC as a globally orientated university with arts and culture in our DNA and we can鈥檛 to share it with audiences.鈥�
In the festival鈥檚 theatre strand, Danny Denton, will collaborate with musician, singer, and producer Elaine Howley to present ), a new durational performance combining spoken word, installation and live music to trace a Cork love story through memory, place and time.
, Head of English at UCC, said: 鈥淭his partnership reflects UCC鈥檚 longstanding commitment to literature as a vital public and artistic practice, and to creating meaningful connections between writers, artists, students and audiences. The programme brings together internationally acclaimed figures alongside exceptional writers and performers from Cork and UCC鈥檚 own creative community, including distinguished UCC graduates whose work continues to shape contemporary literary culture in Ireland and internationally.鈥�
More information and tickets are available at .