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Event information:

The Launch of The Letters of John McGahern will take place on Saturday 23 October 2021 as part of the Liverpool Irish Festival. The launch will take the form of a lecture by Frank Shovlin, editor of The Letters of John McGahern and Professor of Irish Literature in English at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool. Please note that the launch will be a hybrid event with both in person and livestream options available.

The Letters of John McGahern gives us fresh insight into the life and work of one of Ireland's greatest literary figures, John McGahern (1934-2006). Best known by some for his banned second novel, The Dark (1965), and by others for his Booker shortlisted, state of the nation masterpiece, Amongst Women (1990), McGahern was the author of 6 novels and 4 collections of short stories in his lifetime, as well as one play and a memoir. Admired for the sparing grace of his prose and the startling accuracy of his depictions of Irish life in the second half of the twentieth century, his work won plaudits and prizes in Britain, Ireland, the Unites States and France. The Letters consists of over 1,200 communications sent by McGahern to friends, family and fellow writers over a 63 year period, beginning with a childhood thank you note to his father and closing with an email to Irish poet Paul Durcan dictated from his death bed. Accompanying these remarkable documents is an introduction and a broad array of explanatory notes from the editor, Professor Frank Shovlin of the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.

Frank Shovlin is Professor of Irish Literature in English at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool. A native of the west of Ireland, Professor Shovlin was educated at University College Galway and the University of Oxford. He is the author of 3 academic monographs in addition to numerous essays on various aspects of Irish writing.

This event is hosted by the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, as part of the Liverpool Irish Festival 2021. To learn more about the Liverpool Irish Festival, including the full events listing for the 2021 Festival, please go to: https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/