86: İlhan Sami Çomak, Ferdia Mac Anna on Liadan Ní Chuinn

Send us Fan MailOn today’s episode we travel to IMMA and the Dublin Book Festival to meet and talk with İlhan Sami Çomak, a Kurdish Turkish poet who has spent almost  thirty years imprisoned in Turkey. He was arrested in 1994 and charged with membership of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Part. In jail, Çomak released eight books of poetry and became one of Turkey's longest serving political prisoners. He is here in Dublin to mark the Day of the imprisoned Writer at the invitation of Irish PEN which followed an extensive international campaign for his release. Ilhan is accompanied by his interpreter Ipak Özel.Also in this episode writer, filmmaker and  lecturer  Ferdia MacAnna joins us the breakfast table to talk to us about  Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn, the widely acclaimed collection of short stories published by the Stinging Fly Press, and now by Granta as well. This episode is supported by a Project Award from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry’ from The Hare’s Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it. Logo designed by Freya Sirr.Support the show