THE WELSH CONNECTION: A report on the 1998 Annual Cork-Swansea Cultural exchange between

the Munster Literature Centre and Swansea Writers and Artists Group, SWAG.

In spite of dramatic cutbacks on both sides of the water, inclement weather conditions, non co-operative hotels, unexpected surgery and a poet wanting to eschew publicity the MLC/SWAG 1998 Cultural exchange was a success. As ever the Welsh writers arrived early September, in the early morning, to their usual accomodating hotel, only to find that a compulsory pre-noon brisk dalliance with enchanted Cork would set them up for their reading-free day. Late noon the Lord Mayor, the right honourable Joe O'Flynn welcomed both Welsh and Cork writers to his Council Chambers with warmth and enthusiasm. In his address he stressed the great links being forged between Swansea and Cork. He pointed out that the twinning Committee had set aside £1,000 to be shared among all Cork groups who organise exchanges to further strengthen that bond.

Adjournement to the Lobby still hot with the air of Folk festivaling, followed by an evening of eating, talking, girating to music, not necessarily folk, and then some games, literary of course, devised by Lloyd Rees. A true sharing of our shared history.

Next day and the serious stuff. Readings from the said Lloyd Rees, Sally Robert Jones, Gregory O'Donoghue, Gerry Murphy, Cónal Creedon and Robert O'Donoghue went down an absolute treat in the packed Everyman Palace Bar. A 'T na G' camera crew with mucho gusto made great demands on the readers and audience to become literary as gaeilge, but apart from various lines from Conal's Creedon's short stories, the most lyrical that most people could get in the native tongue was, Cymru (pronounced Comeree) Cois Laoi. Offers were made by an esteemed member of the Welsh Academy to deliver an address about the exchange in lyrical Welsh prose, and by a member from the Literature Centre to back that up with true, albeit laboured Ulster Irish, ach mar bharr ar an donas ní raibh suim ar bith acu ann and along with that missed opportunity, some of the funniest and cleverest prose and poetry of the decade went unrecorded in media celluloid.

The Sunday morning Cork streets were slightly aired before the now fully-culturally-exchanged literary icons pushed open the door of the Spaílpin Fanach to enjoy some of the best in songs and ballads from Derry, Donegal, Cork and Kerry. As the afternoon drew to a close Welsh voices joined in and by the time of the evening reading, the voices of Peter Read, Herbert Williams, Brian Smith and Rosemary Canavan had gained melliflous cadence, before a small and mainly Welsh audience. Local band Johnny Beats performed through the interlude with on-beat T. S. Eliot and off beat wild west ballads. Crowds moved in and when Johnny left the stage again the leather in the seats swelled up with emptiness. Like the Pied Piper's lot they went off to follow the music. The question we need to explore: Has unaccompanied poetry a place in a folk festival? We must invite Peter, Herbert and Brian back to try and answer that one properly. Sorry about that one, and thanks to all the efforts of the Folk Festival organiser who did acknowledge that poetry is not their usual thing. Again that evening we heard some of the best and most original poetry read in Cork in a long time.The return visit to Swansea in October by Patrick Cotter, Déaglán Tallon, Tomás Ó Canainn, Mary Leland, Catriona Chambers, Gerry O'Dwyer and Patrick Galvin has been documented in visuals (see page 17) and as yet the writers may be too close to the experience to write about it. Most of them returned smiling, and replenished. Keep an eye on the creative centre of Newsletter Plus. Our thanks to the Arts Council, Cork Corporation and Cork Folk Festival for supporting this year's exchange.