Irish America

Irish America

Writers and Poets

Ireland’s Preeminent Contemporary Playwright Tom Murphy on Druid Theatre Company’s Return to the US

By Cahir O'Doherty, Irish Voice Arts Editor
July 12, 2012

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This week, Galway’s Tony winning Druid Theatre Company will present a mini-retrospective of three of the most accomplished plays of Irish playwright Tom Murphy at Druid Murphy, an exciting festival in his honor that will be staged at Lincoln Center beginning July 5. Murphy, 77, has famously been described by Colm Toibin as “the writer whom other Irish writers most admire.” … [Read more...] about Ireland’s Preeminent Contemporary Playwright Tom Murphy on Druid Theatre Company’s Return to the US

The Power of the Past: Joseph O’Connor

By Sheila Langan, Deputy Editor
April / May 2012

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Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls, talks about his new novel, Ghost Light, the Irish diaspora, and why he doesn’t write historical fiction. The Aran Islands appeared recently on the cover of the New York Times magazine – green, quaintly barren, and lined with stone walls. The accompanying feature was by an Irish-American writer, John Jeremiah … [Read more...] about The Power of the Past: Joseph O’Connor

What Are You Like? Kevin Barry

By Sheila Langan, Deputy Editor
April / May 2012

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Writer Kevin Barry on fancy chocolates, Cuchullain’s heroic diet, and naked seething ambition. Kevin Barry’s novel, City of Bohane, has just been published in the U.S. It was shortlisted for both the Irish Novel of the Year and the Costa First Novel Award in 2011. His debut story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms, was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2007. … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Kevin Barry

Barney Rosset:
1922-2012

By Frank Shouldice, Contributor
April / May 2012

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He helped change the course of publishing in the United States by championing avant-garde writers and beat poets. He defied censors in the 1960s by publishing D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. He brought European writers such as Jean Genet and Samuel Beckett under his Grove Press imprint. He passed away on February 21 at the age of 89. … [Read more...] about Barney Rosset:
1922-2012

Malcolm O’Hagan, Founder of the American Writers Museum

By Marian Betancourt, Contributor
February / March 2012

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“It has to be spectacular or not at all,” said Malcolm O’Hagan, about the American Writers Museum he is founding to “help people understand the power of the word, how much it influences our culture and identity as a nation.” Born the day before St. Patrick’s Day in Co. Sligo, 71 years ago, O’Hagan, who holds a doctorate in engineering, admits that it wasn’t until he moved to … [Read more...] about Malcolm O’Hagan, Founder of the American Writers Museum