Efacis "I would like to express my gratitude for the wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in Irish culture, history, and literature during Irish Week. It was an incredible experience to engage with Jan Carson, a talented Irish writer who generously shared her insights as a fiction author, a native of Ireland, and a passionate promoter of Irish culture around the world. Meeting her in person, listening to her readings of short stories, and taking part in her creative writing workshop were unforgettable and truly valuable experiences.
I was also deeply impressed by the lecture on James Joyce delivered by Matthew Sweney, which allowed me to delve into twentieth-century Irish literature through the life and works of one of Ireland’s greatest writers.
I believe this event was extremely beneficial for every student of English, as it helps us immerse ourselves in the context of the material we study and inspires us to reach new heights."
Yelyzaveta Hrynchak, 3rd-year BA in English-Spanish, TUL
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"I am genuinely grateful for letting us embark on an exciting journey to explore Irish culture at TUL during the cultural week. Having had an opportunity to talk to Jan Carson and learn from her experience as both a famous writer and an Irish local provided me with valuable takeaways. It has undoubtedly improved my knowledge of literature and narration and provided an essential insight into the Irish culture. I was especially impressed by the variety of activities organised over the course of the week - from lectures on James Joyce and readings by Jan Carson herself to the masterclass on creative writing. Everyone benefited from this, especially the English department students, as no language or literature can be solely studied theoretically without being connected to the modern world and real people's experiences."
Anastasia van het Bolscher Morozova, 3rd-year BA in English-Spanish, TUL
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"In her talk on Tuesday, Jan Carson brilliantly introduced the complexities of the Northern Irish literary tradition and spoke not only about its history but also about how her own works fit into the picture. As there was a big explosion of Northern Irish literature in 1998, the themes tended to be historical and included accounts of the bombings and crude violence. This focus entirely centres on the conflict and omits what it is like to exist in an active warzone. Thus, Jan Carson stressed how important she thinks writing within the conflict remains. Secondly, Carson talked about her stance on writing, stating her love for people-watching and searching for cracks between real-life stories, where the interesting things appear. She says that she is a fan of writing parables, which are ever-present in her new short story collection Quickly, While There Are Still Horses. Part of her lecture focused on language. At the end, Carson stresses the importance of the idea that language is political; as Irish continues to be in danger, it is very important to do anything possible to save it. Carson herself has Scottish roots, and that is the reason “strange words” like ween appear in her stories. She likes to keep her family’s language alive by including them. At the end, she states that she is a magical realist and notes that, in the last few years, the eerie is gaining recognition as more and more writers are joining her in writing her preferred genre."
Daniela Málková, MA in English, Charles University
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"The creative writing workshop with Jan Carson was interesting even for me, a person who practically does not write, unless it was a school requirement. I really liked Ms. Carson's approach - she interspersed her engaging explanation with concrete examples, left us space for our own creativity and even invited several volunteers to read their quickly written works to the others. Personally, I felt annoyed with myself for not taking advantage of this opportunity, specifically in the segment when we worked with photos of Ms. Carson's family members. The ideas and thoughts that others shared were inspiring and I left Room 007 with a good feeling."
Ondřej Svárovský, 2nd-year English-IT, TUL
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"Jan Carson's talk about literature in Northern Ireland was not only very informative but also deeply engaging. Jan introduced us to important characteristics of Northern Irish society and its changes over the past decades, but she also added a personal dimension by sharing her experience of growing up in the particular conditions of a small Northern Irish town and by talking about the literary topics which she explores in her writing. I believe that her honest sharing of her own life story and the way she was able to relate it to the larger issues of Northern Irish society made a deep impact on the students and that thanks to it they got a good understanding of the defining social issues in Northern Ireland."
Dr. Anna Světlíková, Assistant Professor, Department of English, TUL
