Irish Authors - The Sadness and The Drink
And The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we're taking a look at some of the Emerald Isle's greatest wordsmiths. Some liked vampires, some liked men, many liked the drink, and all made their island-nation proud.
Herewith, a peek at some of Ireland's most famous authors:
Homer's Homie
James Joyce: Best known for his novel, Ulysses, its successor Finnegan's Wake, and a collection of short stories, The Dubliners, James Joyce has also come to be known, as of late, by Lost fans, who have been decoding Ulysses to see if it might shed light on the island mystery. Joyce had a stormy relationship with, well, lots of stuff - the Catholic Church, his family, and the bottle - for which he had a deep fondness.
Ahead of Their Time:
Oscar Wilde: Witty, wry, smart, often cheeky, and sometimes fond of men, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was ahead of his time. Known for his novel (The Picture of Dorian Grey) and his many plays (The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Huband), Oscar Wilde's personal life was almost as dramatic as his fictional tales. Great highs, sharp falls, public embarrassment, imprisonment and retreat to France.
Bram Stoker: Think Stephenie Meyer's got a lock on the lip lockers? Think again. Bram Stoker was the original vampire author, penning Dracula in 1897. That's a good four years before Edward Cullen was even born. Stoker was said to have drawn inspiration for Dracula from the crypts of St. Michan's Church in Dublin. He is also said to have died from Syphilis. Now that's wicked.
Triplicates
George Bernard Shaw: Not to be confused with Bernard Shaw, the former news anchor for CNN. George Bernard wrote more than 60 plays, most dealing with the working class. He was a socialist, a Nobel Prize winner, and the producer of an incredibly impressive (and somewhat overpowering) beard.
William Butler Yeats: Yeats was an Irish great. And obviously a better poet than I, given that last sentence. Like his fellow three-namer, George Bernard Shaw, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He did not have a beard, but did have a taste for younger women. This, of course, served his art: "Yeats found erotic adventure conducive to his creative energy." Who doesn't?
God and Wardrobes:
C.S. Lewis: And lions and witches. Lewis loved spreading the Christian message, weaving tales of other-worldly adventures, and liked to be called Jack.
Modern Celts:
Maeve Binchy: This is the woman to blame for Circle of Friends. I kid. Good book, pretty good movie, but, Alan Cummings, this is why I will always think you are creepy.
Frank McCourt: Sadness. Drink. Hope. Death. More sadness. More drink. Less hope. More death. Even more sadness. Even more drink...
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