ARE MUSIC and literature separate art forms? Iron Maiden have drawn inspiration from Tennyson, Coleridge, and Robert Burns for their songs; Leonard Cohen was a poet as well as a songwriter, and novelist Polly Samson has written lyrics for David Gilmour and Pink Floyd.
The above is just a tiny instance in the long, often fruitful, meeting points between music - whether rock, metal, classical, or folk - and literature, poetry, and the written word, and it is a subject set to be explored at this year's Cúirt International Festival of Literature.
Lyrics Of Our Lives: The Art of Songwriting, will see The Stunning's Steve Wall, award winning avant pop vocalist and composer Julie Feeney, The 4 of Us's Brendan Murphy, The Frank & Walters' Paul Linehan, and country songwriter Sharon Vaughn, discuss the creation of song lyrics as a writing practice, in the Róísín Dubh on Thursday April 26 at 8pm. It will be chaired by journalist Tony Clayton-Lee.
What To Bring When We Leave will hear poetry by Tom French and music and fiddler Danny Diamond, in the Nuns Island Theatre, on Friday April 27 at 5pm.
Classical music gets its say in Play It Again: Conversation In Concert in the Town Hall Theatre on Saturday April 28 at 8pm. The show will combine readings and conversation about music, writing, journalism and politics with The Guardian’s former-editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger and classical pianist Finghin Collins performing music by Chopin.
Cúirt runs from April 23 to 29. For tickets contact the Town Hall (091 - 569777 or www.tht.ie ), www.cuirt.ie, and for Lyrics Of Our Lives (www.roisindubh.net ).
