Vietnamese American writer, professor and photographer, Ocean Vuong (Time is a Mother), talks to literary journalist Alex Clark.

 Supported by the T.S. Eliot Foundation.

 Jon Ronson (author of the Psychopath Test, The Men Who Stare At Goats, amongst others) talks to former State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, on a subject very close to his heart: psychopaths.

Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary, talks to producer John Lloyd (QI, Blackadder) talks about his recent(ish) book: The Matter with Things, his life and his study of the divided brain.

Author, playwright and Biographer Katherine Rundell discusses her book: Super Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne with Radiohead bass player (recent author of How to Disappear: A Portrait of Radiohead) and their shared love of said poet. 

Adam Clayton is U2’s bass player. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have toured the globe countless times and released 14 studio albums with sales in excess of 157 million. Adam has written about contemporary art for British GQ and the role of art critic has seen him interview artists including Wolfgang Tillmans, Jeff Koons and William Eggleston. In 2022 he presented a documentary titled Francis Bacon: The Outsider which follows the story of the painter’s early life in Ireland.

John Kelly is one of Ireland’s foremost Arts broadcasters. He presents Mystery Train on RTÉ Radio and The Works Presents on RTÉ Television. He also presents the weekend show Elevation on Sirius XM. His poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Two collections – Notions (2018) and Space (2022) are published by Dedalus Press.

Get tickets for next year's festival (June 7th-9th):

https://festivalofwritingandideas.com/tickets/

Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum and irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole take on the rise of populism, it's morphing with the religious right and it's subjugation of "Old School Conservatism" in a journey that takes us through Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Western Liberal Democracies.

Discussing the critical issue of climate justice are two distinguished guests: Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Lord David Puttnam, renowned filmmaker and advocate for sustainable development. Our moderator for this discussion is Gabrielle Walker, a leading voice on climate change and energy transition. 

Welcome to this performance of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, featuring Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack. In this event, we witness a stunning interpretation of Eliot's groundbreaking poem, which explores the themes of post-World War I disillusionment, despair and the quest for rebirth. But before we begin, author and biographer James Lever, introduces us to the historical context and literary significance of The Waste Land.

https://festivalofwritingandideas.com/

Booker Prize winning novelist (and lifelong Chelsea fan) Roddy Doyle sits down with former Chelsea footballer, analyst, music aficionado and now author of "The Accidental Footballer" Pat Nevin for a dive into writing, creativity, Roy Keane, John Peel, football punditry and lots more besides. Asking the questions is journalist, broadcaster and novelist Edel Coffey.