In February of this year, globally-renowned Irish author Edna O'Brien was named as the winner of the PEN/Nabokov award for achievement in international literature. Today, on International Women's Day, we celebrate this seminally feminist voice in modern Irish culture, and look back on Patricia Harty's 2007 interview with O'Brien, where they talked writing, family, and … [Read more...] about Mother, Life, Landscape, and the Connection
Interview
George Carlin is Still Tossing Out the Good Stuff
Once the quintessential seventies hippie comedian, George Carlin continues to evolve and grow. In an intimate interview with T.J. English he shares stories of his upbringing, his Irish ancestors and his view of the world. In the history of American stand-up comedy, there has never been anyone like George Carlin. Controversial, iconoclastic, irreverent, obscene - all of these … [Read more...] about George Carlin is Still Tossing Out the Good Stuff
From Doubt to Defiance
"The guy who makes coffee for me I every morning in my local coffee shop in Brooklyn congratulated me when I won the Pulitzer," recounts John Patrick Shanley with a big grin. "Then, when I won the Tony, the guy says, `This cuppa coffee's on me.'" Shanley, the Irish-American playwright and screenwriter, lets out a hoot of laughter. "God knows what I have to do to get a free … [Read more...] about From Doubt to Defiance
A Winning Pedigree: Tom Brady
Tom Brady is more than an athlete, he is an American icon. Through the support of his loving family and his own will and determination, Brady won an unprecedented three Super Bowls before the age of 30. More importantly, he's done it with a touch of class. ℘℘℘ It is a nondescript fall morning in Foxboro, Massachusetts, aside from the wispy fog that has yet to be burned away. … [Read more...] about A Winning Pedigree: Tom Brady
Probing the Past
Peter Quinn wanted to do something simple. It was 1994 and Quinn had just published Banished Children of Eve, his epic novel of New York City and the Irish famine. Up until then, there had been a monumental gap in American literature. The Irish had been in New York City going back to the days when Peter Minuit, as legend has it, hoodwinked the local Algonquins and snatched up … [Read more...] about Probing the Past