Edna O’Brien has long been part of my reading and writing life (read my Stinging Fly blogpost), so I was delighted to be in the audience in the Pavillion, Dun Laoghaire, when she returned to promote The Little Red Chairs.
Sinead Gleeson facilitated the event beautifully, and allowed Edna plenty of time to develop her answers. She talked about literature with a capital ‘L’, which can be a surprisingly rare occurrence outside academia, and about finding her place in that milieu, which was not always easy; if she were to have a tombstone, which she doesn’t intend to, she says, it would read ‘frightened and fighting’. She’s entertaining and wise and wonderful – but we knew that. She has long been an inspiration, to me and many others, and she continues to inspire.
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I was also there Paula. I am a huge fan of Edna O’Brien. I thought she was magnificent and I was delighted to have the opportunity to hear her speak. I loved her story about Teju Cole saying he was going to have a gin, after 3 hours of conversation with Edna!! I also wish I had written down her quote about vision and doubt, or remember who she said it came from. She is amazing and I can’t wait to get stuck into ‘The Little Red Chairs.’ I am also going to be putting a piece up on my blog about her. Enjoyed this piece.
Thanks for chipping in, Justine. I look forward to your post. I was enthralled, so remember almost nothing – hence the sparse post!