Countless thousands of Irish people associate Thomas Kinsella with one thing mainly: exams. His "Another September" and "Mirror in February" were among the best-known poems in well-thumbed copies of "Soundings," the anthology studied for the Leaving Certificate.
"By now, most of us", said Belinda McKeon, curator of this weekend's IAC PoetryFest, "have discovered for ourselves the truth of the latter poem's famous line: 'For they are not made whole / that reach the age of Christ.'"
On this Sunday afternoon, lovers of literature will get to encounter Kinsella in much less stressful circumstances than grappling with the English paper for the Leaving.
The 83-year-old Dubliner will be the honored guest at the conclusion of the three-day event at the Irish Arts Center on West 51st Street in Manhattan.
For the past four decades, Kinsella has divided his time between his homeland and Philadelphia, where he was a professor at Temple University.
"He has published dozens of books of poetry and is also a hugely important translator from the Irish," said McKeon, whose husband Aengus Woods is curating the event with her. "Kinsella's translation of the 'Táin Bó Cúailnge,' published in 1969 during the Northern Irish Troubles, brought this great story back to life. In 1972, he published 'Butcher's Dozen,' a long poem written in response to the Widgery Report on the Bloody Sunday killings."
Sunday's program begins at 1 p.m. with a showing of the RTÉ documentary "Thomas Kinsella: Personal Places." At 3 p.m. "A Tribute to Thomas Kinsella: Citizen of the World" will feature readings by Irish and American friends.
The event kicks off at 8 p.m. on Friday night with participating poets and special guests reading favorite poems. The session is hosted by Alice Quinn, the executive director of the Poetry Society of America.
Saturday's sessions, which begin at 2:30, 5:30 and 7:30, will feature Nick Laird, Leanne O'Sullivan, David Wheatley, Michael Longley, Dennis O'Driscoll and Sara Berkeley Tolchin.
McKeon said the event has grown each year, though the added day in 2011 has been made possible by the support of Imagine Ireland, the Culture Ireland initiative.
The novelist is the curator of the overall literature aspect of Imagine Ireland's year-long program. "It's a big program in terms of scope -- the number of states involved, the number of writers and venues," McKeon said.
She added that the aim has been both to bring over writers who are well known and to introduce new names to American audiences. However, she stressed that "quality, first and foremost" was the criterion for the organizers of Imagine Ireland, not what they thought people in this country would like most.
The PoetryFest will take place against the backdrop of the election of Michael D. Higgins, a former minister for culture and a published poet, as president of Ireland.
"It's great news," said McKeon, speaking from County Leitrim as the results were coming from the count centers nationally. "He's a big friend of the arts. He was a brilliant minister. He has culture running through his blood and he's hugely intelligent. Everybody is delighted.
"I'm sure he'll be mentioned at the PoetryFest." McKeon said.
All of the IAC PoetryFest 2011 sessions are free. To reserve places go to www.irishartscenter.org.
