From Dublin but living in New York, Colum McCann is well known for books like 'This Side of Brightness', 'Song Dogs' and of course 'Dancer', a novel based on the life of Rudolph Nureyev. His new novel is similarly based on another life, that of a famous Gypsy poet called Papusza, here transformed into Zoli Novotna. The book is simply called 'Zoli' and John Kelly met up with Colum McCann to talk about her and what the life of a Roma woman during the Second World War might mean in 2006. 'Zoli' is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson at €15.

2006 marks the centenary of the birth of Máirtín Ó Cadhain, long considered the 20th Century's most influential prose writer in Irish. And his book 'Dhá Scéal', or 'Two Stories', has just been published by Arlen House. The two stories in question, 'The Edge of the Bog' and 'The Stranger' are reprinted here in Ó Cadhain's original Irish, alongside English translations by the writers Louis De Paor, Mike McCormack and Lochlainn Ó Tuairisg. Tonight we look both at the book and at tonight's 'Arts Lives' documentary, 'Rí an Fhocail (King of Words)', about Ó Cadhain. 'Dhá Scéal' is published by Arlen House at €20.00

The 'Stranger Than Fiction' documentary festival opens at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin this Thursday. Documentaries include one on footballer Zinedine Zidane; the acclaimed 'Children of Allah' about an Indian Orphanage and 'The Connemara Monster'. The opening documentary, 'Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man', is a tribute concert and biopic combined.

Jimmy Faulkner and his band The Houseshakers have been doing serious rock 'n' roll for many a year They join the line up at this week's Ranelagh Arts Festival for 'Rock 'n' Roll, the Green Beat', hosted by John Keogh at Mount Pleasant Tennis Club on Saturday night, where many of them rocked in their heyday. Tonight Jimmy Faulkner and The Houseshakers play live in studio for us.