Steinbeck Celebration

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TALKS / READINGS / MUSIC / FILM / WORKSHOPS

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EVENTS I guess the people of my family thought of Ireland as a green paradise, mother of heroes, where golden people sprang fullflowered from the sod.

John Steinbeck

INTRODUCTION The Human Heart and the Land

Welcome to this year’s annual Steinbeck Celebration.

Introduced in 2011 as part of the International Fringe Festival of the National Steinbeck Centre, California, the event continues to honour and reflect upon internationally acclaimed writer John Steinbeck’s local connections.

Environmentalist/writer Barry Lopez, citing Steinbeck as one of his greatest influences,

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described how Steinbeck connected the human heart and the land through his lifetime of literary work. We have adopted this theme, befitting the outstanding natural environment of the Causeway Coast and Glens area which we call home.

with the surrounding landscape, environment and nature.

This year’s celebration explores this notion, Steinbeck’s sense of ancestral belonging to this land and our own creative connections

We are delighted to present some activities in partnership with the renowned John Hewitt Society and welcome so many accomplished guests and hope you enjoy this year’s programme of events.

BOX OFFICE 02877760650

Donal Lunny Triad Friday 7 October, 8pm Tickets: £18 (Advance booking highly recommended) Exceptional Celtic Music Maestros World Music Central

Multi-instrumentalist and trailblazer Donal Lunny is one of the greatest Irish musicians alive, having been at the forefront of Irish Traditional Music for over 35 years. He founded legendary bands such as Planxty, The Bothy Band, Coolfin and has produced albums for Kate Bush, Paul Brady, Elvis Costelloe, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart and more.

Tonight, he joins two other world-class musicians for what promises to be an extraordinary concert. Padraig Rynne is regarded as the finest concertina player in Irish music today. Joining us all the way from Brittany, Sylvain Barou is considered the best traditional flute player of his generation.

Together, the trio are now one of the most in demand Irish groups internationally, thanks to their live sets which are intimate and breath-taking, diving into the Irish tradition via Brittany, Eastern Europe and the world of folk.

Reading Jean Bleakney Saturday 8 October, 3pm Admission £5 Bleakney’s microscopic eye reveals in the suburban garden, or the holiday landscape, vaster truths about the universe, loss and love. Scientific language and ideas are used, not to bedazzle the reader with erudition, but to open up the world to new angles of vision. - Selina Guinness, The New Irish Poets

Celebrating the publication of her Selected Poems this month, acclaimed poet Jean Bleakney provides a reading of her work. Born in Newry in 1956, Jean studied biochemistry at Queen’s University Belfast and worked in medical research for eight years. An interest in gardening and, much to her surprise, the language of gardening, was triggered, and she worked for over twenty years as a garden centre assistant.

Her first collection of poems, The Ripple Tank Experiment, was published in 1999, followed by The Poet’s Ivy (2003) and Ions (2011). Her poems have appeared in various magazines including Poetry Ireland Review, The Rialto, THE SHOp, Metre, TLS and The Yellow Nib. Also online at several sites including Poetry Proper Vol. 2, Poetry International and From The Fishouse. Jean’s poetry is also featured as set text on the GCSE English syllabus.

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Box Office 028 7776 0650

Box Office 028 7776 0650 Causeway Writers’ Groups Readings Tuesday 11 October, from 7pm Free admission Our local Limavady Writers’ Group join members of the Ballycastle Writers’ Group, Flowerfield Writers’ Group and Ballymoney Writers’ Groups for an informal and enjoyable evening celebrating local writing talent. Members will read a short selection of chosen works and everyone is welcome to come along, sit back and revel in an inspirational event. Refreshments provided.

Film Screening: Of Mice and Men Thursday 13 October, 2pm Admission: £3 The John Hewitt Society and Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre present

NatureWatch with Simon King Saturday 8 October, 6pm Admission: £10 adult / £ 4 under 16 years This evening, renowned broadcaster and writer Simon King will delight audience members of all ages by providing an intimate evening of illustrated stories and wonderful insights into the natural world and his experiences in the wild, followed by Q&A. He has been instrumental in some of the best known award-winning natural history television of recent years, including presenting Springwatch, Big Cat Diary, Planet Earth, Blue Planet and the Life series plus more recently African Cats for Disney.

For the first time, Simon’s profound knowledge of the techniques and tricks needed to find and watch our most beautiful and elusive animals, is presented in a beautiful reference book, Simon King’s NatureWatch, the ultimate guide to tracking and watching wildlife in Britain and Europe fully illustrated with Simon’s own stunning photography.

Discover how to find and observe wild otters. Uncover the signs that deer, foxes, badgers and more live in your neighbourhood. These and hundreds more secrets are revealed, the distillation of over 40 years of first-hand learning in the field.

Of Mice and Men is the award-winning 1992 adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel about two simple farm labourers during the 1930s depression era in California.

Directed by Gary Sinise who also stars alongside John Malkovich in the leading roles.

Of Mice and Men is currently a featured text in the NI curriculum and the screening is a great learning tool for literature students.

Talk – John Steinbeck: Homeward Bound Thursday 13 October, 7.30pm Admission free but places must be booked in advance Want to find out more about how exactly the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning writer John Steinbeck is connected to local history? Historian Alister McReynolds explores the whereabouts and relationships of John Steinbeck’s local connections and his thoughts about family memories of his ancestral homeland.

Believing that the key to successfully halting the global degradation of the natural world is in people learning about, engaging with, and caring for wild creatures and wild places, Simon is closely involved with a variety of wildlife charities including being President Emeritus of the Wildlife Trusts.

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Box Office 028 7776 0650 Film Screening: East of Eden

Creative Writing with Bernie McGill

Saturday 15 October, 2pm Admission: £3

Monday 10 & 17 October, 7-9pm Cost: £20

Released in 1955 and starring the iconic James Dean in one of his most famous and yet first major screen role, East of Eden is an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel inspired by his paternal local roots. The film, along with Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, has been named by the American Film Institute as one of the best 400 American films of all time.

The perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Reading – Jane Clarke Wednesday 19 October, 6.30pm Admission: £5 Quiet, lucid, subtle poems, nevertheless urgent in their presentation of a farming background in rural Ireland, and the poet’s enduring attachment to it. Moniza Alvi, Judge, RLS Ondaatje Prize

Jane’s first collection, The River, was recently published by Bloodaxe Books and has amassed huge critical and public acclaim. With lyrical grace, her poems contemplate shadow and sorrow as well as creativity and connection. The threat of loss is never far away but neither is delight in the natural world and what it offers. Rooted in rural life, this poet of poignant observation achieves restraint and containment while communicating intense emotions.

Originally from a farm in Roscommon, Jane now lives near Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow. She won the 2016 Hennessy Literary Award for Poetry (also shortlisted for this award in 2013 and 2014) and was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society for Literature Ondaatje Award 2016. Jane’s poems have been published in The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Irish Times, Poetry Ireland Review to name a few as well as broadcast regularly on RTE Radio.

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CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

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Professional writer Bernie McGill leads this two-part writing workshop that uses Steinbeck’s writing and his links with the Causeway Coast and Glens area as inspiration for new creative work. Open to all from experienced writers to first-timers. Please bring writing materials.

Bernie has written for the theatre (The Weather Watchers, The Haunting of Helena Blunden), the novel, The Butterfly Cabinet and a short story collection, Sleepwalkers.

Her new novel will be published by Tinder Press in 2017. Her short fiction has been nominated for numerous awards and in 2008 she won the Zoetrope:All-Story Short Fiction Award in the US.

From Leaf to Line: Nature Walk and Writing Workshop with Poet Emma Must Saturday 8 October, 10am-2pm Green Lane Museum, Roe Valley Country Park Cost: £5 Formerly an environmental campaigner, poet Emma Must will be your guide on this informal morning walk and poetry writing workshop, stimulating the imagination and creativity inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Roe Valley Country Park.

Currently studying for her PhD in Creative Writing on contemporary eco-poetry and eco-criticism at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, Emma’s poems have been published in The Open Ear, The Poet’s Place and Abridged. In 2013 she was shortlisted for the Strokestown International Poetry Award.

No previous writing experience necessary, just enthusiasm and willingness to have a go.

The walk will last about an hour; the writing workshop will be guided step by step. All participants please meet at Green Lane Museum first where Emma will meet you and present course content. Please also wear suitable footwear and dress for changeable weather!

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Box Office 028 7776 0650 Environmental Ceramic and Drawing Workshop Saturday 8 & 15 October, 2-4.30pm Cost: £25 full/£20 concession A brilliant two-part workshop where you will produce your own ceramic and mixed-media framed picture inspired by the local environment. On Day 1, artist and maker Gail Mahon will lead a short group walk to collect natural and found materials, returning to the Arts Centre to creatively explore and work on ideas. On Day 2, participants will create your own personal, unique collages within frames to take home or give as the perfect gift.

All participants please meet at the Arts Centre designated workshop room first where Gail will meet you and present course content. Please also wear suitable footwear and dress for changeable weather!

Parent and Child Photography Workshop Saturday 15 October, 10am-2pm Cost: £3 Is your child aged 8-14 years creative with a camera? Professional photographer Rachel Cassidy will provide great tips to both parents and children in taking fantastic photographs with your digital cameras at stunning rural local locations.

All participants please meet at the Arts Centre reception where Rachel will meet you and introduce the session. Please also wear suitable footwear and dress for changeable weather!

“Only kings and heroes came from this Holy Island, and at the very top of this glittering pyramid was our family, the Hamiltons….”

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Nobel-prize winning author John Steinbeck’s maternal grandfather, Samuel Hamilton, was born in Mulkeeragh, an area outside Ballykelly, on 7 October 1830.The son of Esther Clarke and John Hamilton, he emigrated to New York at the age of 17 at the time of the Great Famine and married a young Irish girl, Elizabeth Fagan, in 1849.The couple’s youngest daughter, Olive, met and married John Ernst Steinbeck of King City in 1890, giving birth to John, the writer, in Salinas on 27 February 1902. Fascinated by his Irish roots, John travelled back to Ballykelly in August 1952 in search of his family, documenting his trip for the respected Collier’s Magazine. His resulting article I Go Back to Ireland was published later the same year. In John’s eyes, his grandfather’s story of rural Irish heritage and emigration epitomised the American experience, greatly influencing his passions and writing.