Dr Joseph Lennon from Villanova University (Philadelphia) is back at the Princess Grace Irish Library on Monday October 9, to give a talk: “In His Pocket, the Secret of Changing the Planet”  Irish Arts, Culture, and Climate. The talk starts at 19:00 and will last for one hour, followed by a drink.

The talk will explore a notable shift in Irish arts and literature in response to the ongoing global climate crisis. Unsurprisingly, Irish writers and artists have been at it for decades, representing it their works—but increasingly so in the last decade.  At times, writers and artists offer quiet reflections and other times they veer into what seems political advocacy and public art. 

Dr Lennon will discuss the engagement of local communities and artists, writers, poets etc and explore the role of artistic commitment as we consider how Irish artists and writers express their concern, anxieties, and hopes for a changing future. This cultural turn raises century-old questions about the relationship between art and politics—raised by Jean-Paul Sartre and famously noted by Nobel-prize winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney. 

Dr Lennon and Susan Kelly von Medicus, the niece of Princess Grace, who also teaches at Villanova, co-directed a symposium hosted at the Princess Grace Irish Library over the past weekend, entitled: ‘Sustainability in Irish Culture – communication of sustainability through literature and culture’.  Invited were scholars, writers, and artists from Ireland and the diaspora to present and discuss priorities and strategies to address sustainability and climate change. 

“Dr Lennon’s talk to Friends of the Library on the Monday following the symposium will provide us with insight on the research undertaken and the conclusions from the participants,” the Library says. Tickets are 10 euros at the door.

Online tickets : https://my.weezevent.com/at-the-library-in-person-lecture-by-dr-joseph-lennon-from-villanova-university

PHOTO: Professor Lennon, Susan Kelly von Medicus, and Peter Murphy, a trustee of the Princess Grace Irish Library, at a previous event in 2021