BOOK LAUNCH
Alice Kinsella & Daniel Wade: Wake of the Whale
Wednesday, 9th October
7pm, Festival Dome
Alice and Dan will be performing readings from their captivating, genre-bending book on whaling in Mayo.
About the book
It is a little-known fact that from 1908–1922, two Norwegian-owned whaling stations operated in County Mayo, not far from the area that would be at the heart of the Corrib gas controversy a century later.
Watcher has lived in Mayo most of her life. When she stumbles upon this fact she becomes, like many before her, obsessed with the whales. Reflecting on colonialism and the climate crisis, she asks, What is it that makes the men hunt them?
Mariner tries to answer this question. Through poetry influenced by medieval sagas and sea shanties alike, he tells the story of not just of one whaling voyage, but of the history of commercial whaling itself. He endeavours to give voice to the working Irish men of a community since dissolved.
Together the authors weave a conversation that challenges our deeply ingrained assumptions about human, and animal, nature.
A genre-bending book that blends history, poetry, and documentary, Wake of the Whale asks if the attitudes that brought whales to the brink of extinction are now threatening our own?
Praise for the Wake of the Whale
“An utterly brilliant and visual-physical-poetical exploration of the fate and mortal beauty of the whale in Irish waters. All the pity and majesty of their existence, and ours, is laid bare in Alice Kinsella’s dreamlike work which, like Melville’s Moby-Dick before it, defies all description and arouses the deepest empathy.”
– Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan or, the Whale
“A lucid and enthralling exploration of whales and whaling, while also a poetic, personal journey. Wake of the Whale is like no other book. Unpredictable and exciting as the sea, the pages permeate every aspect of our culture, personal and political. Reading it is like being in an enchanted dream. This is an important, enthralling and genre bending book.”
- Anja Murray, author of The Wild Embrace
“If we are to honour nature we need to confront the sins of the past. This bold and timely truth-telling regarding Ireland’s less-than-honourable treatment of whales over the centuries feels like a first step towards healing.”
– Manchán Magan, author of Listen to the Land Speak
“In this deeply moving and richly researched book, Alice Kinsella and Daniel Wade, uncover the haunting and harrowing tale of our troubled relationships with an míol mór — our ancient sea kin, the whale. Weaving together poignant threads of personal experience, fascinating archival material, poetry and diverse knowledges, this book moves us to reconsider the deeply interdependent relationship between humans and whales.”
– Dr Easkey Britton, author of Saltwater in the Blood and Ebb and Flow
“Kinsella and Wade’s magnificent new book extends the tradition of sea-shanty singers, Melville’s classic novel, and a deep history of whaling as cultural practice into the 21st century. Newsclips, archival photographs, poetry, and political challenges to preserving the Anthropocene all fuse together to tell us an essential new tale from ‘the sea [that] has a thousand spouts’.”
– Mark Nowak, author of Coal Mountain Elementary
About the authors
Alice Kinsella is a writer from Mayo.
She is the author of poetry pamphlet Sexy Fruit (Broken Sleep, 2018), and Milk: on motherhood and madness (Picador, 2023). She co-edited Empty House: poetry and prose on the climate crisis (Doire Press, 2021). Her debut full-length poetry collection, The Ethics of Cats, will be published in 2025. She is an Arts Council of Ireland Next Generation Artist.
Daniel Wade is a writer from Dublin.
In January 2017, his play The Collector opened the 20th anniversary season of the New Theatre, Dublin. In January 2020, his radio drama Crossing the Red Line was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra. He is the author of the poetry collections Iceberg Relief (Underground Voices, 2017), Rapids (Finishing Line Press, 2021), and the novel A Land Without Wolves (Temple Dark Books, 2021).
Booking info: With the exception of Friday night (pre-booking essential), all events at this year’s festival are on a first come, first served basis. As some venues have limited availability, we'd recommend arriving early to secure a seat. All events are free of charge.