Ballymun Booker

The only Irish Booker prizewinner missing at Axis Ballymun was Iris Murdoch. This illustrious event with John Banville, Anne Enright, and Roddy Doyle was a lot of fun last night. Three readings were followed with lively discussion, all ably directed by Dermot Bolger. It nearly ended on a bum note though. An audience member asked what someone should do if they have been writing a lot, for a long time, and getting nowhere, to which John Banville replied, 'do something else.' But this was amended by a suggestion from Anne Enright to write less and to do more rewriting, and by Roddy Doyle to look at putting work online and getting feedback that way. John Banville added that his answer came from something he had said about himself, that he wished he had 'lived more and written less.'