Colm Tóibín  is, in the eyes of many, the most important contemporary Irish writer. After studying history and English at University College in Dublin, he left for Barcelona in 1975, the year of Spanish dictator Franco’s death, and taught English there for three years. His lasting passion for Barcelona and Catalonia formed the basis of his first novel, The South (1990), and of Homage to Barcelona (1990).

Back in Ireland, he worked as a journalist and editor until his definitive breakthrough as an author in the 1990s with The Story of the Night (1996), The Blackwater Nightship (1999), The Master (2006, about the life of Henry James), and Brooklyn (2009). In an impressive way, his novels touch on contemporary dilemmas regarding identity, tradition, and artistic creation. Tóibín is also well-known as a literary critic, and was a visiting professor at Stanford University and the University of Texas. He is currently Leonard Milberg Lecturer in Irish Literature at Princeton University.

---

Website Colm Tóibín
Contemporary Writers - Colm Tóibín
YouTube: Colm Tóibín - Reflections on Austen