Kirkcaldy born poet, novelist and cultural historian, Tom Hubbard, who was the Scottish Poetry Library’s first Librarian, is delivering this year’s Seamus Heaney Memorial Lecture as an Honorary member of the Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts.
The evening’s event will be launched by Executive President of the Széchenyi Academy, Győző Ferencz, and followed by an opening speech by the Ambassador of Ireland to Hungary, H.E. Ronan Gargan, from the Lecture Hall at the Hungarian Academy of Science. This will be followed by Hubbard’s talk, that goes under the title The Emerald Passport: Seamus Heaney and Europe, the choice of which Hubbard says will “… become clearer in the course of the talk…” As a former researcher at Maynooth University and a new Irish citizen (via descent), Hubbard is especially pleased to undertake this venture.
At some point in the future, the text of the lecture will be available in the form of a small book with its Hungarian translation. Until then, anyone interested in seeing Hubbard’s text in script form for oral delivery is welcome to receive this on request.
The event, that has been supported by The Embassy of Ireland, Hungary, will take place on Thursday 28th October at 6pm European time (5pm in Scotland) on Zoom.
Please register participation with an email address at szima@titkarsag.mta.hu / +36 1 331 4117 / http://www.szechenyiakademia.hu by 25th October 2021.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 