Tomi Ungerer
Tomi Ungerer was an artist and writer, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen medal in 1998, and in 2003 became the first Ambassador for Childhood and Education appointed by the Council of Europe. Born in Strasbourg, his wartime experiences as a child saw him develop into an adult greatly opposed to intolerance and injustice. This resulted in a lifetime of political activism, as well as a hugely successful career as an illustrator, cartoonist, storyteller and satirist. Well-known for a visually stunning, witty, as well as subversive style, he produced over 140 children’s books, and was equally lauded for his adult and political books and artwork. Lured by jazz and a freedom to experiment, he moved to New York in 1955, where he soon found a publisher and for over a decade mixed with artists such as Stanley Kubrick, Günter Grass, Philip Glass and Tom Wolfe. The political turbulence of late 1960s America prompted a move to Nova Scotia, and then to Ireland in 1976. He spent the rest of his life between West Cork and Strasbourg, influencing many of the illustrators, artists and writers who have emerged from Ireland over the last three decades.
‘In Memory of the Future’ is an exhibition running from 3 August to 30 September 2023 at dIr LexIcon. Over 50 artists will participate by sharing their interpretations of Ungerer’s work and responses to his influence. The show will run 3 August through 30 September at the dIr LexIcon and it is free to the public.
Illustrators Ireland is curating this celebration of Tomi Ungerer’s life and work with support from IBBY Ireland, Alliance Française, Centre Culturel Irlandais, the French Embassy in Ireland, the Tomi Ungerer Museum, and Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown County Council. We are grateful for the support of Aria and the Ungerer Family.
James Joyce and Padraic Colum
James Joyce and Padraic Colum
A hundred years ago saw the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses. So what better time for IBBY Ireland to remind everyone that Joyce also produced two children’s stories in letters to his grandson Stephen James Joyce. Although written in private correspondence for fun and with affection, both narratives experiment with language and reflect his extraordinary writing style. One of these tales—The Cat and the Devil—has been published as picture books a number of times in different countries. Another, The Cats of Copenhagen, is mostly limited to academic studies. These are delightful stories, comparing well with works by James Stephens and Padraic Colum, contemporaries of Joyce who wrote literary fairy tales for children.
Padraic Colum was known in Ireland as a poet and dramatist, and Mary Colum, his wife, as a respected writer and critic. Both were friends with James and Nora Joyce, promoted Joyce’s work, cared for Lucia Joyce when she was ill, and assisted Joyce while he wrote Finnegans Wake. In America, however, Colum was known for his children’s books. To maintain his native tongue, he translated from Irish to English traditional tales heard in childhood, weaving them into a children’s novel, The King of Ireland’s Son (illustrated by Willy Pogany). More children’s folktale anthologies followed, with three awarded retrospective citations for the Newbery Honor. Colum’s essay, Story Telling: New & Old, a comparison of traditional storytelling with storytelling by public librarians, continues to influence storytellers today.
Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin have a forthcoming exhibition on Padraic Colum’s life and work. Stay tuned for further information on this celebration of a writer who pioneered Irish folklore and myth as fantasy for children.
Siobhan Parkinson
Siobhan Parkinson
Siobhan Parkinson writes novels, mostly for children and young people. She served as Ireland’s first laureate for children’s literature.
Siobhan has published more than twenty books, mostly for children and young people. Her books have been translated into many languages. She writes in both English and Irish, and translates from German into English.
Siobhan is the commissioning editor and publisher with Little Island, an imprint of New Island Books. She is a former co-editor of Bookbird, the magazine of the international children’s literature organisation IBBY, and former editor of Inis, published by Children’s Books Ireland.
On 10 May 2010, Parkinson was conferred by President of Ireland Mary McAleese as the first ever Laureate na nÓg, a position she held until 2012. In her capacity as laureate she expressed the wish that “every child in the country would have access to a […] library where they could go and find the books that are going to open their minds”.