Efacis
Tartalo: II Week of the Fantastic in the Arts, celebrated in Vitoria (Spain) from 4 November to 10 November, was enriched by the particpation of Sheila Armstrong and Jan Carson. They were the protagonists of the Irish Itinerary devised by EFACIS in this week of artistic and academic exploration, first as members of a round table chaired by Asier Altuna, and as keynote speakers on the following da.
The first event was inroduced by a brief show of traditional Irish music and by the authors' readings of fragments of their work, in a celebration of the Irish sound and imagination - interestingly, it was revealed during the round table discussion that Carson and Armstrong have very different approaches to voices, both in their work and as part of their creative process. The glimpses into their artistic vision, their identity and the evolution of their work were an inspiring close to the proceedings for the day.
On the following day, those of us who had the chance to attend all the Irish Itinerary events found that the auhtors' key note speeches provided an expansion on some of the most interesting ideas brought up in he round table discussion. Humour, fantasy and memory were blended in the keynote intervention by Jan Carson, which delved into the complexitites of the Northern Irish identity and its depiction, as well as its reception. Sheila Armstrong's all-too-short talk went from a riveting presentation on the Dúchas, the School's Collection that gathered folklore manifestations in the 1930s, to a consideration of the so-called 'thin places', locations of unusual contact between the real and the Numinous, and concluded with Armstrong's incisive analysis of popular perception of Irish folklore and imagination. The lively discussions that followed made it clear that the topics she presented merit further research. Again on this second day, Carson and Armstrong proved to be inspirational for lay and scholarly audiences alike, and helped to make of the EFACIS Irish Itinerary one of the highlights of the week.
Beatriz Sánchez - English Teacher at EOI (Official School of Languages, Madrid)
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Jan Carson and Sheila Armstrong's participation at Tartalo in November 2024 manly comprised two parts.
On Thursday, there was a read-aloud of both authors; Carson recited an amusing fragment of one of the short stories comprised in Quickly, While They Still Have Horses; while Armstrong read an excerpt of her debut collection How to Gut a Fish. After the read-aloud of both authors, a round table followed with reflections on their influences and contexts of writing as well as their work as artist writers: their upbringing, their literary influences, their relationships with their editors, ad their creative processes as such. The event included translation and interpretation to make sure that attendants could follow the discussion, whether it was in English or in Spanish.
The following day, Jan Carson's lecture versed on 'Becoming Various: Untangling the Knots of Northern Identity', in which she reflected again on her background as an artist in Northern Irelan, and how this has found a way in her writings through magic realism.
On her part, Sheila Armstrong talked about 'Hungry Grass and Thin Places', referring to Irish and other international myths and folklore and how it has transcended literature, especially how this 'Irishness' is viewed throughout the Western World (mainly the United States pop culture).
The reflections and contributions of both authors have been powerful and enriching in the context of the II Week of the Fantastic in the Arts and have strenghtened the work that EFACIS (the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies) and Eusk-Cara promote by bringing together and capturing the essence of Irish culture (both from 'the North' and the Republic), and how it transcends their Literature.
Isabel Matilde Barrios (Lecturer of English at the International University of La Rioja)
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I think it's really inspiring because hearing these people talking about the process of writing a book - all the things they've experienced about writing a book - I think it's really inspiring and motivating, especially their way of creating art. Very interesting.
Andere Morillo (last year student of English Studies at the University of the Basque Country)
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It was a pleasure to hear them both. I really enjoyed listening to them both reading from their books. I really, really enjoyed it. I personally really liked the Irish accent. so being able to hear that from two Irish writers was really nice.
Lydia (last year student of English Studies at the University of the Basque Country)
