Often a verse to a coffee

BUSTLING cafe, loud with the clinking of teacups and the exchange of gossip, might not seem the ideal location for a heartfelt rendition of odes and sonnets: the combination of sticky fingers and shelves of expensive books may seem downright foolhardy.

But the rising popularity of the cafe as literary venue means that these days your Earl Grey may well be served with Dorian Gray and a request for coffee and a Danish might just mean a cappuccino and a reading of Peter Hoeg's latest work.

"Books and cafes go naturally together," claims Seoirse O Luasa of Ireland's original literary cafe, An Cafe Liteartha in Dingle. "In the 18th century, all bookshops and printers had cafes attached." Certainly, all those who offer a bit of culture with afternoon tea agree the idea is mutually beneficial; a reading will bring in custom, while the performer gets an audience without high running costs. For the general public, the attractions are a little more complex.

An informal cafe setting does much to dispel what Theo Dorgan, director of Poetry Ireland, calls the "church anxiety" people have about live performances of literature, and poetry in particular. Or as Alan Toner, a member of the co operative that runs The Garden of Delight, a radical bookshop and cafe, puts it: "It's all about access. For many people the whole concept of culture is of something very much removed and intimidating. The cafe is all about saying `Yes, touch the books, develop your taste'."

The cosy familiarity of Bewley's may be a far cry from the off the wall Garden of Delight, but much the same principle is behind Poetry Ireland's seven year relationship with Ireland's favourite cafe. Dorgan says: "There's no age inhibition to a reading in a cafe and it's so much more congenial. You can reach, people you'd never normally reach, who've maybe just seen the posters and come in to check it out over a coffee."

When the inaccessibility of culture is combined with the barrier of language, the lure of the cafe becomes even more important. It is with this in mind that Gael Linn has purchased Cecilia House in Temple Bar, planning to open an Irish language centre offering story telling, poetry readings, drama - and of course, a cafe.

"We want the centre to be a meeting place where people experience the language as a living language," says Gael Linn's Dathai O Dulaigh. "We hope the cafe will attract them in."

So whether it's baguettes and Baudclaire or pasta and pop culture you fancy, here's a run down on what's available around the country.

DUBLIN

The Winding Stair, Bookshop and Cafe on Ormond Quay is loved by many for its four storeys of second hand books and chunky brown bread sandwiches, although handling the books while sampling the soup is, sadly - although understandably - discouraged. With Poetry Ireland, it plans to host a poetry reading by five young poets (admission £2) on Thursday, February 13th. Submissions (to Poetry Ireland at Bermingham Tower, Dublin Castle) are welcome for future poetry readings. There is also a branch of the Winding Stair at Hyde Bridge in Sligo.

A Cabaret Literaire is presented every month in the cafe of the Alliance Francaise at 1, Kildare St. Actors and musicians present the work of various authors before throwing the floor open to discussion, with a glass of wine to free the tongue included in the £3 admission fee. The next Cafe Litteraire takes place on February 28th at 8 p.m. and concentrates on the theme of Le Fantastique.

The Garden of Delight on Castle Street (opposite Burdocks) is probably the only place in Ireland, if not the world, where the Complete Kama Sutra nestles cosily alongside a hefty history of the Jesuits. Dotted as it is with bright canvases, sofas and a friendly black cat, you could easily forget you are in a cafe/ bookshop that declares itself "beyond the margins" and an advocate of anarchy. The Pat McCabe (Charlie McCarthy film Mother's Love's a Blessing, with Paul Duane's Misteach Baile Atha Cliath (February 15th-17th, 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively), and a one man show by Mannix Flynn (March 15th) are among the forthcoming events.

Bewley's on Grafton Street, the original poetry cafe has hosted any number of poetry readings and plays by literary stars from home and away. This month sees the launch of Cavan based literary magazine, WP Monthly (February 27th, 8 p.m.) with further poetry readings to be confirmed for March. While this, the grand daddy of literary cafes, may be very safely "inside the margins", the coffee is still good, the almond buns unbeatable and it's mentioned in Ulysses. Now what could be more literary than that?

DINGLE

An Cafe Liteartha was set up in 1979, and has been going strong since, selling soup, sandwiches and books of general and Irish interest to tourists and locals alike. From May 2nd to 4th there will be poetry readings, book launches and other literary events taking place in the cafe as part of Dingle's literary weekend, Deireadh Seachtaine na Bealtaine (information at 066 52294).

GALWAY

Cafe society in Galway takes a long winter break and tends to remain dormant until late spring, when the annual Cuirt Festival of Literature kicks off the artistic new year. This year's festival begins on April 15th and runs for seven days.

Le Graal bistro in Dominic Street will host the annual Bardic breakfast on the final Sunday. Famous faces to expect behind this year's croissants include novelist John Banville, English poet Carol Ann Duffy, Australian David Malouf, and Michael Harper, Professor of English from Brown University, New York.

This year Cuirt changes venue to An Taibhdhearc theatre in Middle Street. There is no news yet as to the future of the festival's traditional home, the Nun's Island theatre which was put up for sale last year. However, with so many writers and would be writers in town, the possibility of being able to nurse your cappuccino in peace should slim.

Cafe Du Journal on Quay Street was turned into a kind of unofficial fringe venue for an evening last year by novelists Dermot Healy and Nina Fitzpatrick. Chris Terry, owner, host and literature fan, opened this cafe two years ago and decorated it with books from his own collection. In the process, he discovered a first edition D.H. Lawrence. Generally speaking, he says, the cafe attracts a steady stream of musicians, theatre people and college types. All are free to browse through the shelves and some even swap books with the cafe's collection. Don't expect to pick up the Lawrence, however. It's been sold.

CORK

Jonathan Swift, never the most sociable of chaps, famously claimed it was folly to mistake the echo of a coffee shop for the voice of a kingdom.

Obviously, he never visited Cork's Tig Fili, a quietly dynamic hub of activity that genuinely reflects the city's literary life. Tucked discreetly away in a converted warehouse on McCurtain Street, Tig Fili was launched by the Cork Women's Poetry Circle and quickly became a haven for writerly sorts.

"We've had all types in here," says Maura Bradshaw of the Poetry Circle. "Everyone from American hip hop freestylers to housewives who've secretly been penning verse for 20 years."

Every Thursday lunchtime, those with bardic ambitions descend on the coffee shop for Poet's Platform, an open session at which anyone can chance their iambic pentameters. The Poets' Platform, which runs 1-2 p.m., features Lynn Coughlan and Leo Ryan.

The cafe also stages events that combine poetry with music and visual arts. The next is scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. and will feature Cork poets Ciaran Ruby and Diarmuid Lynch O'Dalaigh. The latter will hopefully treat us to his showstopping Don't Cry For Me Knocknaheeny. Information at 021-509274.

Cork has other cafes for the bookish, though none that stage literary events as such. These include Kafka's (Mailor Street), the Gingerbread House (Paul Street), and the Quay Co op (Sullivan's Quay).

BELFAST

Mary Denvir, owner of Bookfinders bookshop in Belfast, is in no doubt about the success that will meet "Coming Out Too", a night for poets who wish to come out of the filing cabinet". The first "Coming Out" poetry party was organised during the Belfast Festival and was "a brilliant success", according to Denvir. More than 18 poets took part on that occasion, each reading two poems.

Denvir is in no doubt about the value of that opportunity: "Coming Out is a kind platform for new poets to air their work. The poetry can be a little raw but the poets are all sincere." Indeed, so many turned up during the festival that people had to be turned away.

Denvir is currently reading manuscripts for "Coming Out Too", which will be held on February 27th at 8 p.m. and would welcome participants from the Republic. "If we get too many," she quips, "we'll do a `Coming Out Across Borders'."

Bookfinders has been a part of the Belfast literary scene for more than 12 years. Situated in the university area, it boasts a wide selection of second hand books (many first editions) a cafe and an upstairs gallery where emerging artists can display their work. If you are interested in taking part in "Coming Out Too", send a manuscript of no more than six poems to Mary Denvir, Bookfinders, 47 University Road, Belfast, BT7 IND.