This Poetry Jukebox curation, inspired by The Linen Hall’s Robert McAdam Comparative Lexicon, will showcase new poetry in English, Irish, French, and Breton. The Jukebox consists of 10 poems, mainly by poets from Northern Ireland, and 10 translations of those poems, weaving a rich verbal tapestry from the four languages. Poets include Gail McConnell, Scott McKendry, Celia de Fréine, and Yvon Le Men.
Initiated by Belfast-based Quotidian-Word on the Street, in partnership with The Linen Hall, Belfast, and the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, this Poetry Jukebox curation will be launched in May with public readings and conversations and the installation of a Poetry Jukebox in Saint-Malo as part of its annual international literature festival, Étonnants Voyageurs, then at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.
The Robert McAdam Comparative Lexicon (c. 1885) is a unique handwritten lexicon of the Irish language housed in The Linen Hall, an 18th-century Belfast library. It compares 13,000 Irish words with 28 other languages, from Breton to Sanskrit.
Poetry Jukebox, a sound installation animating public spaces through poetry, is conceived and developed by Prague-based cultural activists Ondřej Kobza and Michaela Hečková. There are now poetry jukeboxes in nearly 20 cities worldwide, including at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.
The Poetry Jukebox will then move on to the Linen Hall Library from 22 October 2024 to 31 January 2025. A launch event will take place on 22 October at 1PM. Join poets Celia de Fréine, Gail McConnell, Scott McKendry, James Conor Patterson and others as they discuss McAdam’s Lexicon, its legacy and the poetry that it has inspired. Chaired by Maria McManus.
This project is one of the laureates of the UK/France Spotlight on Culture Fund for and Northern Ireland and Scotland delivered by the British Council in partnership with Creative Scotland. It is also supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
