Presented by literary critic and poet Louis de Paor
Wednesday, November 9, 4:30 p.m.
Thompson Room, John J. Burns Library
A passing reference to Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman in the television series Lost, and new translations of Ó Cadhain's Cré na Cille (The Dirty Dust) have generated new interest in the lives and works of two of Ireland's most accomplished yet neglected writers. Ó Cadhain once boasted that he was lethal in the two official languages of the Irish State, while Flann O'Brien, one of the great comic writers of the 20th-century, insisted that many of those he pilloried found him "far from funny." This talk will focus on some of the parallels and differences between two of Ireland's most brilliant writers and contrarians, on the historical context in which they emerged, and their contributions to world literature.
The Boston College Libraries and the Center for Irish Programs cordially invite you to attend a reception honoring Louis de Paor in the Library's Irish Room immediately following his lecture.
For more information about de Paor and his work, please visit bc.edu/burns.
For further information about the lecture, including directions and parking, please call (617) 552-3282.
Photo: Realia from the Flann O'Brien Papers, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert, 2009.