Immrama Festival of Travel Writing
The Immrama Festival of Travel Writing has been held in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland, in June each year since 2003. It is a glorious celebration of travel writing, good music and quality entertainment. Previous guests of the festival have included Robert Fisk, Jung Chang (author of Wild Swans), Brian Keenan and Terry Waite.
Unfortunately the 2020 festival has been cancelled. But the beauty of travel writing is that the author can bring you on a journey anywhere in the world through the pages of a book. So in the spirit of Immrama here are some suggestions to help you enjoy the art of travel from your living room.
For adults
A lot of us have some extra time on our hands at the moment but not the opportunity to travel., So it is the perfect time to explore the world through literature. Inspired by past guests of the Immrama Festival here are some book suggestions to remind you of the outside world.
- The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk
- On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Road Trip by Paul Theroux
- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
- Manchan’s Travels: A Journey Through India by Manchán Magan
- Travels with a Primate: Around the World with Robert Runcie by Terry Waite
- An Evil Cradling by Brian Keenan
And should you be inspired to document your previous wanderings, there are some top tips for travel writing from our favorite travel writer Pól Ó Conghaile here.
For older children
In 2019 the Immrama festival held a writing competition for schools. Students were tasked with writing a short story in the form of a letter home. Read some of the previous entries (here) and try to write your own. If you really want to make someone’s day post or email it to your grandparents or someone who you know would love to receive a letter..
For younger children
Pull out the photo albums or have a look through the holiday snaps on your phone. Chat about their memories of the trip. What was their favorite food? What do they remember about where they slept? Draw pictures of their favorite place from the holiday.