Dublin: One City, One Book

…Jonathan Swift described the existence of two moons around Mars in his 1726 masterpiece “Gulliver’s Travels” - some 150 years before the discovery on August 17, 1877, by the American astronomer Asaph Hall of Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos!

The astronomers on the flying island of Laputia, says Gulliver, have
… discovered two lesser stars, or satellites, which revolve around Mars, whereof the innermost is distant from the center of the primary exactly three of his diameters, and the outermost five: the former revolves in the space of ten hours, and the latter in twenty-one and a half.

NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander which landed in the northern polar region of Mars on the 25th May, 2008, carried with it the Planetary Society’s “Visions of Mars” DVD  - a kind of time capsule for future explorers. The “Visions of Mars” DVD secured to the lander becomes the very first library on Mars. It includes a collection of 19th and 20th Century science fiction stories, essays and art inspired by the Red Planet. The works include Asimov’s “I’m in Marsport without Hilda” and “The Martian Way,” Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles,” Arthur C. Clarke’s “Transit of Earth” and “The Sands of Mars,” Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels,” Alexei Tolstoi’s “Aelita,” Voltaire’s “Micromegas” and an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Sirens of Titan.”

The chosen book for this year’s Dublin: One City, One Book is Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Now in its third year, Dublin: One City, One Book is a project designed to encourage everyone in the city to read the same book during the month of April each year. The project promotes reading in a city which boasts one of the world’s greatest literary heritages including four Nobel Laureates.

Formerly the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Swift has a broad appeal for all readers - from the academic to the general reader and, with many editions also available for children, its iconic status makes Gulliver’s Travels a natural choice for Dublin: One City, One Book 2008.

Click here and share your views on ‘Gulliver’s Travels‘!

To celebrate Gulliver’s visit to Dublin, 15 events and exhibitions will be held throughout the capital in April for both adults and children. Captain Lemuel Gulliver himself will be coming to Dublin’s Docklands from April 1st - 15th with two giant sand sculptures being created in his honour. One will be created in the chq building and the other will be built outside the building adjacent to George’s Dock.

Man Booker Prize winner Anne Enright and bestselling author Joseph O’Connor will share their views on Gulliver’s Travels and Jonathan Swift with Niall MacMonagle at a special Dublin: One City, One Book event in Pearse Street library on Monday, April 7th.

Other events taking place in April include Gulliver’s Dublin - Eamon Morrissey’s acclaimed one man show which will run in Dublin’s City Hall for four nights (Tues 15th - Fri 18th April); adults and children’s film screenings in the Irish Film Institute; children’s interactive theatrical workshops in Dublin City Libraries; academic talks on Swift at Farmleigh; and specially curated exhibitions in City Hall, the National Library of Ireland and Pearse Street Library and Archive.

Dublin: One City, One Book is a Dublin City Council initiative led by Dublin City Libraries and kindly supported by Dublin’s Docklands Development Authority, The Sunday Tribune and Vintage Classics.