Loose Leaves

Intellects collect:Are public intellectuals relevant in today's society, given the technocratic nature of modern government and the 24/7 multi-platform news and entertainment culture around us? Can they adapt their message to audiences increasingly fragmented by technological and media developments?

These are among the questions that will be examined at a conference in Dublin next month which will include contributions from Declan Kiberd (right), Tom Garvin, Brian Lucey, Nicholas Canny, Frances Ruane and Donncha O’Connell (right). Called “Public Intellectuals in Times of Crisis: What Do They Have to Offer?”, it takes place in the Royal Irish Academy on Friday, November 27th.

Keen for the audience to have their say too, the organisers are asking people who want to kickstart debate to submit questions in advance. Summoning up past public intellectuals such as economist John Kenneth Galbraith who died aged 97 in 2006 and who, says the RIA, posessed the capacity to communicate with the wider public – as well as policy makers – on the important issues of the day, they feel this event is particularly timely in today's Ireland. What is the function of public intellectuals?; how are they defined?; do they have a duty to society?; what role, if any, do they play in fomenting debate?; and can they contribue to the development of consensus, or is their role primarily characterised by diversity ? These – and the very specific question of whether public intellectuals have been successful in communicating to the general public on the current economic crisis are also up for debate. One has only to think of the interjection by the 46 academic economists and lecturers in business who voiced their opposition to Nama in The Irish Timesin August to feel this sector has certainly taken a leading role during our current travails – but who knows, maybe this symposium will summon forth more counsel and joined-up thinking. And the more of that we get, the better. See ria.ie/events.

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Poets Ciaran Carson, Dennis ODriscoll and Leontia Flynn are among those lined up for workshops at the Faber Academy’s first poetry- writing course in Ireland.

"Becoming a Poet 2010", a six-month workshop-based course which ranges from the improvement of technical skills to putting together a first collection, starts in January with poet Paul Perry as its director. Perry's most recent collection is The Orchid Keeper. His next, The Last Falcon and Small Ordinancewill be published by the Dedalus Press next year.

Aimed at writers who aspire to publishing a first collection of poetry, the course consists of 24 two-hour evening sessions on Tuesdays and six full-day sessions on Saturdays. There are 16 places.The cost is €3,000 but one place will be given free – based on merit, not financial circumstances. The base is the St Stephens Green Hibernian Club in Dublin. At the end of the course, all students will give a short reading.

The curriculum includes sessions on a range of topics including “The Dramatic Monologue”, “The Epistolary Poem”, “The Ode”, “Haiku” – and “Repetition, Rhythm and Blues”. See faber.co.uk/academy/