Jun 10, 2011 | Latest
Finished ‘Pornografia’ by Witold Gombrowicz (pictured, front page) and it will be a long time before I read one of his novels again. He, himself, is a character in the book and there is nothing impressive or provocative or memorable about the boring story of two...
May 17, 2011 | Latest
Was supposed to do an interview with RTE’s Pat Kenny this morning on the subject of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Ireland but it had to be cancelled as it clashed with an event at Queen’s [!] University at which I am speaking. Having not recently been down South I can...
May 11, 2011 | Latest
Just back from Toronto where on Saturday night (7th May) I spoke at the Brampton Irish Centre (Lar Na nGael) at the invitation of Alan McConnell, chair of Friends of Sinn Féin, about the enduring legacy of the hunger strike. The hall was packed and the event included...
Mar 31, 2011 | Latest
Finished a biography on Philip Larkin by Richard Bradford, ‘First Boredom, Then Fear – The Life of Philip Larkin’. From the intro: “The defensive strategy of the pro-Larkinists, that a writer’s prejudices are separable from and irrelevant to their literary...
Mar 14, 2011 | Latest
Got a call from Flair Campbell late on Saturday night to tell me that Brian Moore had died suddenly after a short illness. Brian was one of life’s gentlemen, intelligent, witty, dedicated, selfless and hugely talented as a singer and songwriter but also as the...
Mar 8, 2011 | Latest
Did an interview today with Sarah O’Neill whose thesis is a literary biography of Jennifer Johnston, and Jennifer was one of the writers who came into the H-Blocks whilst I was there to teach creative writing. 7th March. Did interview along with David Hume of the...
