Over the Water: Essays on Islands with Sinéad Gleeson and Noreen Masud

What is it about islands that captures our imagination and keeps drawing us back? Inspired by Over the Water, this event journeys across islands real and imagined, exploring what these extraordinary places can tell us about belonging, isolation, community and our relationship with the natural world. Through the stories and experiences gathered in this collection, the conversation will consider why islands have inspired writers, artists, travellers and dreamers for generations. From remote landscapes and distinctive communities to the freedom and constraints of island life, expect a thoughtful exploration of what it means to live surrounded by water, and why islands continue to fascinate us.

Sinéad Gleeson is an award-winning Irish writer and essayist whose work explores art, identity, memory, the body and our connections to place. Noreen Masud is an acclaimed writer, academic and literary critic whose work explores landscape, memory, belonging and identity through inventive, deeply personal nonfiction.

Audiences will discover how islands shape identity, creativity and our sense of belonging through the personal perspectives of Sinéad Gleeson and Noreen Masud. They will hear the stories behind their contributions to Over the Water, explore our fascination with island life, and consider what living with water can reveal about community, isolation, memory and home.

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