A Bit of a Writer
eBook - ePub
Available until 10 Dec |Learn more

A Bit of a Writer

Brendan Behan's Complete Collected Short Prose

  1. 420 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Available until 10 Dec |Learn more

A Bit of a Writer

Brendan Behan's Complete Collected Short Prose

About this book

Brendan Behan wrote over one hundred articles for Irish newspapers between 1951 and 1956 as he rose to international fame, with most of them written in a weekly column in the Irish Press. The articles reveal a serious writer capable of great comic set pieces and amusing yarns as well as thoughtful reflections on cultural and historical issues. They reflect his passion for working-class Dublin life and the history and folklore of the city, as well as his travels in Ireland and Europe.


This edition gathers all the articles and essays that Behan published in newspapers from 1951 to his death in 1964. Selections of Behan's articles have been published since his death ( Hold Your Hour and Have Another, 1965; After the Wake, 1981; The Dubbalin Man, 1997). However, there has been no complete edition of Behan's prose, and no edition has provided a detailed biographical and literary introduction, explanatory notes and suggestions for further reading. This volume is intended for publication during the centenary celebrations of Behan's birth in 2023, with his birthday being 9 February.

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Yes, you can access A Bit of a Writer by Brendan Behan, John Brannigan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Journalism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
  8. Further Reading
  9. Chronology
  10. A Note on the Text
  11. 1. TO THE MOUNTAINS BOUND
  12. 2. WICKLOW SAILORS AND BOYS OF WEXFORD
  13. 3. TWO MEN FROM THE NORTH
  14. 4. JOURNEY IN THE RAIN TO WATERFORD
  15. 5. JOURNEY TO THE JEWEL OF WICKLOW
  16. 6. OVER THE NORTHSIDE I WAS A CHISLER
  17. 7. THE LONG JUMP TO ARAN
  18. 8. THESE FISHERMEN PUBLICISE GAELIC AT ITS BEST
  19. 9. TRAVELLING FOLK MEET A LANGUAGE PROBLEM IN THE WEST
  20. 10. SAVED FROM CERTAIN DEATH BY THE ISLANDERS
  21. 11. BELFAST WAS FIRST RIGHT … AND THEN JUST STRAIGHT AHEAD
  22. 12. WE CROSSED THE BORDER
  23. 13. TORONTO SPINSTER FROWNED
  24. 14. TURNIP BOAT
  25. 15. TOO OLD TO SOLVE THE POSITION
  26. 16. BIGOTRY
  27. 17. SPRING
  28. 18. PARIS
  29. 19. LET’S GO TO TOWN
  30. 20. TO DIE WITHOUT SEEING DUBLIN!
  31. 21. FLOWERS ARE SAFE AT DOLPHIN’S BARN
  32. 22. UISCE, AN EADH?
  33. 23. SWINE BEFORE THE PEARLS
  34. 24. HERE’S HOW HISTORY IS WRITTEN
  35. 25. THE ROAD TO CARLISLE
  36. 26. VIVE LA FRANCE
  37. 27. HERO OF THE GODS
  38. 28. SERMONS IN CATS, DOGS – AND MICE
  39. 29. MEET A GREAT POET
  40. 30. FROM DUBLIN TO LES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
  41. 31. THE ROAD TO LYON
  42. 32. AHEAD TO THE SUN: FROM LYON TO THE OCEAN
  43. 33. TERROR IN THE ALPS OF FRANCE
  44. 34. THREE CELTIC PILLARS OF CHARITY
  45. 35. WHAT ARE THEY AT WITH THE ROTUNDA?
  46. 36. VOICE LIKE A CINDER UNDER A GATE
  47. 37. THE BEST RED WINE
  48. 38. BEANNACHT LEAT A SHOMAIRLE MHIC SHEOIN
  49. 39. DON’T ASK ME THE ROUT
  50. 40. THOUGHTS BEFORE ALBERT MEMORIAL
  51. 41. WE TOOK OVER A CASTLE
  52. 42. HOW SORRY THEY ARE TO RETURN
  53. 43. I MEET THE HYPHENATED IRISHMEN
  54. 44. TIME I MET A SHEIK
  55. 45. LANE PICTURES
  56. 46. PEADAR KEARNEY BALLAD MAKER
  57. 47. TRAILS OF HAVOC
  58. 48. HE WAS ONCE CRIPPEN THE PIPER
  59. 49. THE NORTHSIDE CAN TAKE IT
  60. 50. TOUR OF NATION VIA THE TOLKA
  61. 51. HEART TURNS WEST AT CHRISTMAS
  62. 52. THOSE DAYS OF THE GROWLER
  63. 53. A PICTURE OF DUBLIN’S OLD VOLTA CINEMA
  64. 54. UP CORK – FOR WIT, AND SONG
  65. 55. ON ROAD TO RECOVERY
  66. 56. I HELP WITH THE SHEEP
  67. 57. THEY DIDN’T MAKE THE FAMINE
  68. 58. YES, QUARE TIMES
  69. 59. REMEMBER DUCK-THE-BULLET?
  70. 60. EXCUSE MY MISTAKE
  71. 61. ‘I’M BACK FROM THE CONTINONG’
  72. 62. NORTHSIDERS, DON’T MISS THIS BOOK
  73. 63. WE FELL INTO THE WAXIES’ DARGLE
  74. 64. THE FAMILY WAS IN THE RISING
  75. 65. A GLORIOUS SPRING
  76. 66. DUBLIN IS GRAND IN THE SUN
  77. 67. ON ROAD TO KILKENNY
  78. 68. MAIR A CHAPAILL AGUS GHEOBHAIR FÉAR
  79. 69. FROM TOLSTOY TO CHRISTY MAHON
  80. 70. ‘O, TELL ME ALL ABOUT THE … RIOTS’
  81. 71. IT’S TORCA HILL FOR BEAUTY
  82. 72. UP THE BALLAD SINGERS
  83. 73. INVINCIBLES WERE PART OF THE FENIANS
  84. 74. ON THE ROAD TO KINCORA
  85. 75. ‘YOU AND YOUR LEINSTERMEN’
  86. 76. DANCE FOR LIBERTY
  87. 77. ADVICE FROM AN EMIGRANT
  88. 78. THE TALE OF GENOCKEY’S MOTOR CAR
  89. 79. THE TINKERS DO NOT SPEAK IRISH
  90. 80. NUTS FROM THE CRIMEAN WAR
  91. 81. TIPPERARY SO FAR AWAY
  92. 82. THE TIME OF THE FIRST TALKIE
  93. 83. OUR STREET TOOK A DIM VIEW …
  94. 84. WE DIDN’T TAKE IT BADLY
  95. 85. I’M A BRITISH OBJECT, SAID THE BELFAST MAN
  96. 86. ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF MOBY DICK
  97. 87. RED JAM ROLL THE DANCER
  98. 88. A WORD FOR THE BRAVE CONDUCTOR
  99. 89. OUR BUDDING GENIUS HERE
  100. 90. MUSIC BY SUFFERING DUCKS
  101. 91. FOR CAVAN, TURN RIGHT AT NAVAN
  102. 92. THE SCHOOL BY THE CANAL
  103. 93. THE FUN OF THE PANTO
  104. 94. A TURN FOR A NEIGHBOUR
  105. 95. NOT ANOTHER WORD ABOUT TURKEY
  106. 96. OVERHEARD IN A BOOKSHOP
  107. 97. THE HOT MALT MAN AND THE BORES
  108. 98. MY GREAT RED RACING BIKE
  109. 99. DIALOGUE ON LITERATURE AND THE HACK
  110. 100. EMANCIPATION PARSON: SYDNEY SMITH
  111. 101. REFLECTIONS ON ‘VITTLES’
  112. 102. A SEAT ON THE THRONE
  113. 103. SNOW THROUGH THE WINDOW
  114. 104. POLAND IS THE PLACE FOR FUR COATS
  115. 105. UP AND DOWN SPION KOP
  116. 106. SHAKE HANDS WITH AN ALSATIAN
  117. 107. MY FATHER DIED IN WAR
  118. 108. THAT WEEK OF RENOWN
  119. 109. A WEEKEND IN THE FOREIGN LEGION
  120. Notes