The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is supporting the third annual Manx Litfest by bringing an author to the Island who is researching a book on the herring industry around the coastlines of Northern Europe.
Shetland-based author Donald S Murray, a Scottish Gaelic speaker, has been commissioned to write the book by publisher Bloomsbury and his visit to the Island will coincide with Manx Litfest, at which he will take part in the festival’s National Story Day in Manx schools and sit on a panel discussing the Celtic Influence in Literature.
Manx Litfest runs from Wednesday, September 24th through to Sunday, September 28th, with Donald visiting the Manx language school, Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, on the schools day on Friday, September 26th.
Donald’s research has so far taken him to fishing ports as various and widely scattered as Scheveningen and Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, Floro and Bergen in Norway, Bremenhaven, Gluckstadt and Flensburg in Germany as well as places like Castlebay, Mallaig, Stornoway, Lochboisdale, East Neuk of Fife and his home port of Lerwick in his native Shetland. He has still to visit a number of ports on the east coast of both England and Scotland, but plans to do this over the next few months.
He said: ‘I’ve spent the last few months exploring a fascinating community, those who throughout much of Northern Europe depended both on herring fishing and the sea at large. It’s been wonderful seeing the connections that are still in evidence to this day, created and formed by music and art, craft and folklore, an existence inspired by the joys and challenge of life beside the ocean.
‘I am particularly thrilled to be going to and taking part in Manx Litfest. As a Gaelic speaker from the Western Isles of Scotland, I am very conscious of the historic ties that bind our islands together. For all the distance between us, we have much in common, possessing linguistic, historic and cultural connections that have provided us with a similar view of the world.’
Festival Director John Quirk said: ‘This is a first for Manx Litfest – having an author visit us while carrying out research on a book. It’s wonderful to be able to include Donald in the schools day; he originally trained as a teacher and I know he’s really looking forward to spending the day with the children at Bunscoill Ghaelgagh. The Steam Packet Company is a much valued supporter of Manx Litfest, and it is only through such support that we are able to stage the festival.’
Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said: ‘We are always keen to support and encourage a diverse range of community projects, and we’ve assisted Manx Litfest since its inaugural festival, helping with the costs of bringing authors to the Island. Donald’s book sounds like a fascinating project and we are delighted that he will be travelling with us for this year’s event.’
