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TASTWK221 - Kate O'Brien the Writer and Public Intellectual
AONTAS ADULT LEARNERS' FESTIVAL
While Kate O’Brien (1897-1974) has long been recognised as one of Ireland’s most significant novelists, her work as a literary critic and social commentator is still largely unexplored. The aim of this talk is to discuss the writer’s considerable body of non-fiction (essays and journalism), drawing attention to the way in which it complements her novels while at the same time standing alone on its own merit. O’Brien emerges from these texts as an important Irish and European intellectual, a formidable critical voice ahead of her time.
Day: Tuesday Date: 18 Jan Time: 12.00 - 12.50 Location: Belfield (tbc)
Dr Jana Fischerova received her doctoral degree from UCD, where she wrote a thesis on literary censorship. She has lectured in Irish and English Literature for a number of years. Jana has a long-term interest in the work of Kate O’Brien. In 2018 she contributed an essay to the Irish University Review special issue on the writer, and her recently completed edited volume of O’Brien’s non-fiction is currently awaiting publication.