A Malarkey in Clear Air – Frank McNally on an American war hero with a funny name
An Irishman’s Diary
John Steinbeck
Author
Jennifer O’Connell: Margaret Atwood is not the biggest threat to your children’s wellbeing
Yes, schools should be a safe place, as the callers to Liveline insisted. But safe does not mean sanitised
Seán Moncrieff: I’ve fallen out of love with America
There’s a darkness I never saw before. Perhaps it was papered over by all that positivity
When John Steinbeck visited Ireland to trace his ancestral roots
‘Grapes of Wrath’ author believed his mother’s Irish lineage inspired him to be a writer
A dozen ways to ditch the football
Twelve ways to spend 90 minutes this evening if you have no interest in watching the World Cup
‘It shouldn’t be political to show what it takes for people to survive’
Director Debra Granik on her new film ‘Leave No Trace’ and her biggest movie-making influences
Don’t drink, sleep when you want, get a cat: top 10 writers’ tips on writing
Think you still have that novel in you? Take some writing tips from Leo Tolstoy, Muriel Spark, John Steinbeck and other famous authors
'Once you step over the threshold, you enter Gatsby’s mansion'
Designed to include members of the audience, the Gate Theatre’s adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel begins at the door
Neil Jordan Riviera controversy: Writers don’t control TV
Analysis: It’s not the writer or director, but the ‘showrunner’, who controls TV drama now
Why we must pay attention to Ireland’s spring of discontent
Concerns over downward social mobility mirror conditions behind Brexit and Trump
Yanis Varoufakis: Greece needs an end to this loop of doom
Greece’s absence from headlines seen as a sign economy has stabilised - it has not
Patrick deWitt: ‘I am oftentimes drawn to unfashionable things’
The Man Booker shortlist author on the joys of Portland, writing modern fairytales, his next project, and why he felt he had no choice but to bin a 300-page novel he had finished
Booze as muse: writers and alcohol, from Ernest Hemingway to Patricia Highsmith
Nobel laureates Faulkner, O’Neill, Hemingway and Steinbeck were alcoholics, as were Brendan Behan, Dylan Thomas, Jean Rhys and many more. Anne O’Neill explores why
The cobwebs are blown off the English curriculum
A revamped list of texts has been brought in at secondary level. But is it too modern?
California droughts worsen as US fears new ‘Dust Bowl’
Experts say farming must change to save the Golden State’s precious groundwater supply
Five siblings set world record for each living over a century
‘Never give out about anybody’ is the secret to a long life from 100-year-old Madge
December Bride: A grim masterpiece about life in an unforgiving place
25 years after the release of the film version of Sam Hanna Bell’s book, Eileen Battersby examines one of Ireland’s finest novels
Glasgow readies for eruption as Celtic and Rangers meet in cup semi-final
First Old Firm game in three years comes with all trappings of security clampdown
Six terrible things you must do in college in your first year
If you’re here for a degree, you’re in the wrong place. College is all about having fun and learning about yourself
The Overnighters review: a compelling portrait of the best and worst of humanity
The Overnighters is a beautifully crafted piece of storytelling - and as an important snapshot of the new Great Depression.
Conor Brady: ‘readers need never be lonely; writers need never be idle’
‘Kate O’Brien was one of the great successes of the Censorship Board in that they succeeded in driving her out of the country into penury’
Baiting the censor: 10 books they tried to suppress
Hilary Mantel’s short story The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher caused outrage with its recent publication in the Guardian, but it’s not the first and won’t be last piece of fiction to raise hackles
Profile: Phil Hogan a more subtle operator than persona suggests
Kenny-loyalist credited with helping defeat Richard Burton’s leadership challenge
O’Dowd and Greene lose out in Tony Awards
The Cripple of Inishmaan, which was nominated in six categories, failed to secure a prize
Is Irish literature too local to have philosophical heft?
In broader European and American literature, it is easier to find genuine marriages of philosophy and fiction
Irish actors Chris O’Dowd and Sarah Greene nominated for Tony Awards
‘Outside Mullingar’ nominated for best play
Window on the world of shopfronts
“Shops are part of our culture,” says photographer Paul Tierney who has captured their expressive windows for an exhibition at the Irish Architectural Archive
Willy Vlautin: ‘You try to make something that is a story, and is about life, but also says something that matters’
Whether in his outstanding debut, ‘The Motel Life’, or his latest novel, ‘The Free’, the American writer – and key member of Richmond Fontaine – understands the marginalised lives that his characters endure
My best piece of advice? Don’t mind the advice of others
Pieces of advice are positioning statements that tell the world about the values the issuer would like it to think they hold
Clio Barnard – “The idea that film can deliver reality is nonsense”
Cinema needs clear thinkers like Selfish Giant director Clio Barnard. Trained as a visual artist, she brings a critical eye and a seriousness of purpose to her film-making. She talks to Donald Clarke
Blagging rights: a dummies’ guide to culture
Being in college means being in the know about all things music, art, film, food and politics, so here’s a cheatsheet to start you off
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