A Bit of a Writer
Brendan Behan's Complete Collected Short Prose
Published on 20. April 2023
567 pages
978-1-84351-882-2 (ISBN)
Description
Brendan Behan wrote over one hundred articles for Irish newspapers between 1951 and 1956 as he rose to international fame, with most of them written in a weekly column in the Irish Press. The articles reveal a serious writer capable of great comic set pieces and amusing yarns as well as thoughtful reflections on cultural and historical issues. They reflect his passion for working-class Dublin life and the history and folklore of the city, as well as his travels in Ireland and Europe.
This edition gathers all the articles and essays that Behan published in newspapers from 1951 to his death in 1964. Selections of Behan's articles have been published since his death (Hold Your Hour and Have Another, 1965; After the Wake, 1981; The Dubbalin Man, 1997). However, there has been no complete edition of Behan's prose, and no edition has provided a detailed biographical and literary introduction, explanatory notes and suggestions for further reading. This volume is intended for publication during the centenary celebrations of Behan's birth in 2023, with his birthday being 9 February.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Dublin 7
Ireland
File size
1,56 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-84351-882-2 (9781843518822)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2023
The Lilliput Press Ltd
€27.70
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Persons
Born on 9 February 1923, Brendan Behan was raised at 13 Russell Street in Dublin's north inner city. He became one of Ireland's best-known writers and talkers. Behan moved between Dublin, Kerry and Connemara and spent time in Paris, writing in both Irish and English. He wrote articles for The Irish Press and two radio plays for Radio Éireann.
'The Quare Fellow', Behan's first play, was produced in 1954 in Dublin. 'The Hostage' met with great success internationally following Joan Littlewood's production in London in 1958. Borstal Boy, Behan's autobiographical novel, was published the same year and became an immediate best seller. Suffering from diabetes, compounded by years of heavy drinking, he died on 20 March 1964.
Professor John Brannigan is Head of English at UCD and is the author of book-length studies of the writings of Brendan Behan and Pat Barker as well as investigations of critical race theory in Race in Modern Irish Literature and Culture (2009). He was editor of the international journal Irish University Review from 2010 to 2016.
Content
- Intro
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Further Reading
- Chronology
- A Note on the Text
- 1. TO THE MOUNTAINS BOUND
- 2. WICKLOW SAILORS AND BOYS OF WEXFORD
- 3. TWO MEN FROM THE NORTH
- 4. JOURNEY IN THE RAIN TO WATERFORD
- 5. JOURNEY TO THE JEWEL OF WICKLOW
- 6. OVER THE NORTHSIDE I WAS A CHISLER
- 7. THE LONG JUMP TO ARAN
- 8. THESE FISHERMEN PUBLICISE GAELIC AT ITS BEST
- 9. TRAVELLING FOLK MEET A LANGUAGE PROBLEM IN THE WEST
- 10. SAVED FROM CERTAIN DEATH BY THE ISLANDERS
- 11. BELFAST WAS FIRST RIGHT . AND THEN JUST STRAIGHT AHEAD
- 12. WE CROSSED THE BORDER
- 13. TORONTO SPINSTER FROWNED
- 14. TURNIP BOAT
- 15. TOO OLD TO SOLVE THE POSITION
- 16. BIGOTRY
- 17. SPRING
- 18. PARIS
- 19. LET'S GO TO TOWN
- 20. TO DIE WITHOUT SEEING DUBLIN!
- 21. FLOWERS ARE SAFE AT DOLPHIN'S BARN
- 22. UISCE, AN EADH?
- 23. SWINE BEFORE THE PEARLS
- 24. HERE'S HOW HISTORY IS WRITTEN
- 25. THE ROAD TO CARLISLE
- 26. VIVE LA FRANCE
- 27. HERO OF THE GODS
- 28. SERMONS IN CATS, DOGS - AND MICE
- 29. MEET A GREAT POET
- 30. FROM DUBLIN TO LES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
- 31. THE ROAD TO LYON
- 32. AHEAD TO THE SUN: FROM LYON TO THE OCEAN
- 33. TERROR IN THE ALPS OF FRANCE
- 34. THREE CELTIC PILLARS OF CHARITY
- 35. WHAT ARE THEY AT WITH THE ROTUNDA?
- 36. VOICE LIKE A CINDER UNDER A GATE
- 37. THE BEST RED WINE
- 38. BEANNACHT LEAT A SHOMAIRLE MHIC SHEOIN
- 39. DON'T ASK ME THE ROUT
- 40. THOUGHTS BEFORE ALBERT MEMORIAL
- 41. WE TOOK OVER A CASTLE
- 42. HOW SORRY THEY ARE TO RETURN
- 43. I MEET THE HYPHENATED IRISHMEN
- 44. TIME I MET A SHEIK
- 45. LANE PICTURES
- 46. PEADAR KEARNEY BALLAD MAKER
- 47. TRAILS OF HAVOC
- 48. HE WAS ONCE CRIPPEN THE PIPER
- 49. THE NORTHSIDE CAN TAKE IT
- 50. TOUR OF NATION VIA THE TOLKA
- 51. HEART TURNS WEST AT CHRISTMAS
- 52. THOSE DAYS OF THE GROWLER
- 53. A PICTURE OF DUBLIN'S OLD VOLTA CINEMA
- 54. UP CORK - FOR WIT, AND SONG
- 55. ON ROAD TO RECOVERY
- 56. I HELP WITH THE SHEEP
- 57. THEY DIDN'T MAKE THE FAMINE
- 58. YES, QUARE TIMES
- 59. REMEMBER DUCK-THE-BULLET?
- 60. EXCUSE MY MISTAKE
- 61. 'I'M BACK FROM THE CONTINONG'
- 62. NORTHSIDERS, DON'T MISS THIS BOOK
- 63. WE FELL INTO THE WAXIES' DARGLE
- 64. THE FAMILY WAS IN THE RISING
- 65. A GLORIOUS SPRING
- 66. DUBLIN IS GRAND IN THE SUN
- 67. ON ROAD TO KILKENNY
- 68. MAIR A CHAPAILL AGUS GHEOBHAIR FÉAR
- 69. FROM TOLSTOY TO CHRISTY MAHON
- 70. 'O, TELL ME ALL ABOUT THE . RIOTS'
- 71. IT'S TORCA HILL FOR BEAUTY
- 72. UP THE BALLAD SINGERS
- 73. INVINCIBLES WERE PART OF THE FENIANS
- 74. ON THE ROAD TO KINCORA
- 75. 'YOU AND YOUR LEINSTERMEN'
- 76. DANCE FOR LIBERTY
- 77. ADVICE FROM AN EMIGRANT
- 78. THE TALE OF GENOCKEY'S MOTOR CAR
- 79. THE TINKERS DO NOT SPEAK IRISH
- 80. NUTS FROM THE CRIMEAN WAR
- 81. TIPPERARY SO FAR AWAY
- 82. THE TIME OF THE FIRST TALKIE
- 83. OUR STREET TOOK A DIM VIEW .
- 84. WE DIDN'T TAKE IT BADLY
- 85. I'M A BRITISH OBJECT, SAID THE BELFAST MAN
- 86. ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF MOBY DICK
- 87. RED JAM ROLL THE DANCER
- 88. A WORD FOR THE BRAVE CONDUCTOR
- 89. OUR BUDDING GENIUS HERE
- 90. MUSIC BY SUFFERING DUCKS
- 91. FOR CAVAN, TURN RIGHT AT NAVAN
- 92. THE SCHOOL BY THE CANAL
- 93. THE FUN OF THE PANTO
- 94. A TURN FOR A NEIGHBOUR
- 95. NOT ANOTHER WORD ABOUT TURKEY
- 96. OVERHEARD IN A BOOKSHOP
- 97. THE HOT MALT MAN AND THE BORES
- 98. MY GREAT RED RACING BIKE
- 99. DIALOGUE ON LITERATURE AND THE HACK
- 100. EMANCIPATION PARSON: SYDNEY SMITH
- 101. REFLECTIONS ON 'VITTLES'
- 102. A SEAT ON THE THRONE
- 103. SNOW THROUGH THE WINDOW
- 104. POLAND IS THE PLACE FOR FUR COATS
- 105. UP AND DOWN SPION KOP
- 106. SHAKE HANDS WITH AN ALSATIAN
- 107. MY FATHER DIED IN WAR
- 108. THAT WEEK OF RENOWN
- 109. A WEEKEND IN THE FOREIGN LEGION
- Notes
