Famed Novelist, ‘Brooklyn’ Author, Visits Joplin Thursday
7 p.m. event is the capstone for Missouri Southern’s Ireland-themed semester
Famed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín will be the capstone speaker for MSSU’s Ireland-themed semester. The author of Brooklyn, the story of a young Irish immigrant in Brooklyn in the 1950s, will discuss his novel at the Taylor Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, an event that includes a “meet the author” book signing event at 6:30 p.m. and immediately following his presentation. Admission is free and open to the public.
Several classes and a book club at MSSU are reading Brooklyn this semester, in order to learn more about Irish culture, immigration to America in the 1950s, writing techniques, and the novel as an object of study and analysis.
Copies of Brooklyn will be available for purchase for $15. Attendees may bring their own copies of any of Tóibín’s books for the author to sign.
USA Today called the 2009 book, “One of those magically quiet novels that sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations.” Brooklyn was given the Costa Novel Award, while The Observer named it one of “The 10 best historical novels.” In 2019, the book was ranked 51st on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Brooklyn was made into an Oscar-nominated film in 2015.
Colm Tóibín (pronounced “cuh-lem toe-bean) was born to a political family in Enniscorthy, a town south of Dublin, in 1955. He is not only a novelist, but also a short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright, and poet. He is the author of 10 novels, to date.
His literary conversation with the world explores a number of significant themes: the nature of Irish society, living in exile, the legacy of Catholicism, the process of creativity, and the preservation of personal identity, especially when confronted by loss. Tóibín is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He lives in Ireland and the United States.
