Sebastian Barry: ‘When you get past 60, you do feel a licence to write fearlessly’

The Irish novelist and playwright on the positives of ageing, his struggles with depression and a golden age of Irish writingSebastian Barry, 68, is the author of 11 novels and 15 plays. Five of his books have been long- or shortlisted for the Booker prize, and his novels have won numerous awards, including the Costa book of the year (twice) and the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction. He was laureate for Irish fiction from 2018 to 2021. His latest novel, Old God’s Time, is about a retired policeman, Tom Kettle, and his struggles with the legacy of institutional child abuse in Ireland. It has been described as “a tour de force of transcendent power and complexity”. Barry was born in Dublin and lives in a converted rectory in the mountains of County Wicklow, Ireland.Was it good to be back in Ireland with Old God’s Time? Did it feel like coming home?I was in dread of coming home. I had spent two books [Days Without End and A Thousand Moons] in America, quite joyously… a kind of vast holiday. So, yes, it was coming home, but I was a bit… It’s not that I’ve been avoiding the whole strange cosmos of what we have done to children in this country, but I was certainly unable to write this book… until I did. When you get past 60, you do feel a sort of licence finally to write fearlessly about something that essentially is full of fear.Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry is published in paperback by Faber (£9.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-02-10 18:00:48 UTC ]

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'Wide-ranging and diverse' Booker Prize shortlist welcomed by trade, despite surprise omissions

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-04 10:36:45 UTC ]
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Reimagining Folktales, But for the Ear: A Conversation with Mahsuda Snaith, by Carolyne Larrington

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Booker tightlipped amid speculation Lee Child will judge 2020 prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-12 09:45:34 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: August 9, 2019

“The phrase ‘common-or-garden dick’ in a medieval poem? Yes, please.” On the gleefully indecent lines of the Medieval Welsh feminist poet Gwerful Mechain. | Lit Hub For the anxious historical fiction writer, Caitlin Horrocks offers some permissions for writing into the past. | Lit Hub “As a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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12 Novels about Historical Women to Inspire a Better Future

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A Gathering of Epic Historical Fiction Books

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Bring Back the Golden Age of Broadcast Regulation. Especially for YouTube and Facebook.

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-31 17:35:51 UTC ]
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‘The Old Drift’ author Namwali Serpell shares how Zambian Afronauts inspired her debut novel

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Walter Scott Prize unveils 2019 longlist

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