Gay poet highlights joy and strain of Irish

ONE of the surprises of the Ireland and its Diaspora book fair at Frankfurt has been the remarkable interest shown in Irish language literature.

A discussion on contemporary literature in the Irish language yesterday attracted one of the largest audiences of the week.

The Donegal poet Cathal O Searcaigh spoke about the difficulties and the joys of writing in a minority language that is always on the verge of extinction.

Quoting the results of a survey which shows that Irish-speakers are perceived as smaller, uglier, lazier and more old-fashioned than English-speakers, he said the language was not an integral part of national life.

He claimed that new poetry in Irish had overcome these obstacles to become one of the most vibrant areas of Irish writing.

Mr O Searcaigh is not only an Irish language poet but also one of a handful of Irish writers whose work deals with homosexuality.

The almost complete absence of gay writing in Ireland is striking in view of the crucial role gay writers have played in most western European countries during the past two decades.

He spoke wittily about the experience of growing up gay in a rural environment and the function of literature in alerting him 19 the existence of an international brotherhood of like-minded people.

Although the Irish pavilion is the heart of Ireland's presence at the book fair, Irish publishers are operating from one of the vast halls at the other end of the exhibition grounds.

Few publishers are prepared to divulge details of the deals they have made so far but, according to Brid Ni Chuilian of Cle, the Irish Book Publishers Association, business is booming, especially for publishers of children's books.