James T. Farrell (1904-1979), born in Chicago to a struggling Irish Catholic family, became a celebrated writer by drawing on his own experiences in his well-known Studs Lonigan trilogy. As we celebrate the centenary of Farrell’s birth, Pete Hamill, himself the son of Irish immigrants, explores the character of Studs and writes about how Farrell influenced his decision to … [Read more...] about Young Lonigan
Literature
Book Reviews
A sampling of the latest Irish books. RECOMMENDED The Garden of Martyrs -- Michael C. White Before Emmett Till was killed in Mississippi in 1955 for being black, and before Leo Frank was lynched in Atlanta in 1913 for being Jewish, two Irish Catholic immigrants in Boston, in 1805, were victims of an angry city. Dominic Daley and James Halligan were traveling from Boston to … [Read more...] about Book Reviews
Meet Eve Bunting
It was only natural that the young Eve Bolton would grow up to be a writer, and a very prolific one who would produce more than 200 books for children. From her earliest years in Maghera, a small town in County Derry, books and stories filled her life. Both of her parents were great readers. Eve remembers sitting in her father's lap and being read to. "It was always poetry. He … [Read more...] about Meet Eve Bunting
Review of Books
RECOMMENDED Early in his new memoir Pull Me Up, New York Times columnist Dan Barry writes: "Noreen Barry, née Minogue, originally of Shanaglish parish, County Galway, and lately and sporadically of Sts. Cyril and Methodius parish, Deer Park, Long Island, died on a rainy morning in February; she was all of sixty-one. And that should have been that: another Irish mother dies and … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Sardonic Joe
Joe Queenan's no-holds-barred satirical writing is not for every palate. He jabs, stabs, pokes, prods, and otherwise mangles various aspects of American culture (not to mention European culture and Third World culture) like a dentist performing a root canal without an anesthetic or a disgruntled postal worker creating balloon animals. It's often not pretty, but is certainly … [Read more...] about Sardonic Joe