In conversation with author Lucy Caldwell, songwriter and poet Andy White reflects on five pieces of literature that have been important to him. Born in Belfast and living in Melbourne, Andy joins us for this special event to discuss his literary influences and read poems from his new collection. 

Releasing a string of literary albums from debut Rave on Andy White to spoken word LP Good Luck I Hope You Make It, Andy has toured the world, co-written with artists such as Peter Gabriel and Allison Russell, and his books include poetry collection The Music of What Happens and novel 21st Century Troubadour.

Meet the writers

It is 40 years since a Belfast poet with a Dylanesque torrent of words, an acoustic guitar and a punk attitude released debut LP Rave on Andy White. This and a subsequent series of literary albums have taken Andy White around the world with songs such as Religious Persuasion, Street Scenes from my Heart and James Joyce’s Grave. Andy has co-written with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Allison Russell, played in ALT with Liam Ó Maonlaí and Tim Finn, won Ireland's top songwriting awards and played stages the world over. Memorable concerts include playing the Ulster Hall with Billy Bragg the night Margaret Thatcher resigned; the Brecht Theatre in Berlin after the Wall came down; and Glastonbury Festival last summer where Andy Burnham helped pack up his tent. Andy’s books include poetry collection The Music of What Happens and novel 21st Century Troubadour. HIs new collection, Written to be Read Quickly was edited by novelist and old friend Robert McLiam Wilson, and is published by Arthouse Belfast.

Born in Belfast in 1981, Lucy Caldwell is the author of four novels, several stage plays and radio dramas, and three previous collections of short stories. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018, she was also the editor of Being Various: New Irish Short Stories in 2019, and has won the E. M. Forster Award, from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Walter Scott Prize among others.