A Literary Salon inspired by Elizabeth Bowen
You are invited to experience the rich tradition of the Irish literary salon. From the eighteenth-century to the mid twentieth century, literary salons were hosted across Europe by female intellectuals, and notable Irish hostesses included Maria Edgeworth and Lady Jane Wilde (Speranza). These salons allowed writers and the social elite to come together in mixed-gender gatherings, and played an important role in the exchange of contemporary literary, cultural and political ideas.
Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the Anglo-Irish author Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), this salon takes its inspiration from the literary salons that Bowen hosted at Bowen’s Court in the mid twentieth-century.
This salon will be hosted by Eibhear Walshe, an expert on twentieth-century and contemporary Irish literature and author of ‘The Last Day at Bowen’s Court’ (2020). He will be joined in conversation by the Irish writer Martina Devlin, author of ‘Edith’ (2022), a fictionalised novel based on the life of Anglo-Irish writer Edith Somerville.
Date: Thursday, 28 September from 6pm – 8pm
Location: City Assembly House, South William Street, Dublin 2
For more information and to book
This special event has been made possible through funding from the Dublin UNESCO City of Literature small grants scheme supported by Dublin City Council.