Travel in their blood
LISMORE, Co Waterford, hosts the 10th Immrama Festival of Travel Writing next month. Immrama takes its name from the old Irish for journey, and the great and the good of travel literature will descend on the town — home of one of Ireland’s most indomitable travellers, Dervla Murphy — from June 7 to 10.
Among the attendees this year are Tony Wheeler, co-founder, almost 40 years ago, of the Lonely Planet guidebooks; legendary travel writer Jan Morris; and Artemis Cooper, who has written a biography of Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor, widely considered one of Britain’s greatest travel writers. There will also be family events, book launches and a day-long writing workshop focusing on how to write creatively about the outdoors. Also participating this year are writers Colin Thubron and Mary Russell, who have both written about their travels in the Middle East; a topic of considerable relevance, given the region’s present volatility.
