Greatest "Irish-American" author?

Amazotheamazing

Considering no-one seems to have heard of John O'Hara, who I would consider, along with F. Scott Fitzgerald, as being among the great Irish American writers, I was wondering do people even feel such a group exists? Even though both were born in America to American parents, both refer to their Irish heritage through-out their work. Indeed, in This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald makes references to the War of Independence that was ongoing here at the time. Both of their work focusses on being nearly, but not quite, part of high society, and both either say or imply (repeatedly) that being Irish -American has kept them out of high society.

Would people consider later or more modern writers like Cormac McCarthy as Irish American, does being Irish, or considering themselves Irish-American, influence their work?

hatful

I think Henry James had Irish heritage ?

Amazotheamazing

hatful wrote: »

I think Henry James had Irish heritage ?

I have a terrible confession to make, I just can't get into any of his stuff. I start it, put it down, start some other book and never glance at the Henry James stuff again.

indough

Raymond Chandler would be my pick, he's usually mentioned as being anglo-american but his mother was born here so he can be considered irish-american as well

Eliot Rosewater

But would you not say that to be identified as an Irish-American author they would have to incorporate some of their identity into their work?

Amazotheamazing

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

But would you not say that to be identified as an Irish-American author they would have to incorporate some of their identity into their work?

That's what I was getting at, being Irish, or Irish American was clearly a huge influence on what O'Hara and Fitzgerald wrote, I don't know if the same applies to James and Chandler. Donleavy anyone?

indough

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

But would you not say that to be identified as an Irish-American author they would have to incorporate some of their identity into their work?

if they are irish-american and an author then they are an irish-american author

Chandler does make reference to Ireland in the big sleep anyway, the character Rusty was supposed to be an ex-IRA man

TaraAthenry

I'm delighted to have found others wanting to discuss this topic. I believe that McCarthy's identity (and self-identification) as Irish-American greatly impacts his writing. In terms of literary theory, Irish-American culture is especially interesting because some Irish-American authors are writing through an especially strong post-colonial lens. Through this lens, the author's chosen names and relationships with the landscape seem particularly significant.

I wrote this paper on the subject for a graduate class in Irish literature. As a disclaimer, I do get paid for page views on that site and do make my living as a writer.

It's my impression that there is a disagreement on whether the Irish-American diaspora can be considered a literary subset. Some have said that the Irish so heavily influenced America that calling a writer "American" is sufficient, though I disagree.

On the matter of heritage, a writer could be genetically a child of two Irish parents, but if not fostered in an Irish or Irish-American tradition, culturally the child may not be Irish-American. I'm not sure how I feel about that. What do I know? I'm the dumb tourist who kissed the Blarney Stone knowing the locals pee on it.

toomevara

Flannery O'Connor, raised in a small irish community in the protestant bible belt of the southern US. One of the finest exponents of southern-gothic. Very interesting character with a fascinating life story.

bullpost

William Kennedy of the Albany trilogy fame for me.

Eoin

Should John Connolly get a mention as well?

Hrududu

John Connelly, if we're talking about the same one, is Irish.

Eoin

Yeah, the ex-Irish times journo (www.johnconnollybooks.com). Very little Irish influence in his books; you'd never know he was Irish from reading them. Not that this is a particularly bad thing! I read some medical thriller written by an Irish-American, and the Irish references were very OTT.

Eliot Rosewater

In my opinion the term "Irish-American" has a more cultural connotation than a genealogical one. Although Irish-Americans are generally descended from Irish people, I think their identity stems more from their maintaining a part of that former heritage.

That is why I would put an author into the "Irish-American" class only if his work displayed some of that culture.

Jay Pentatonic

toomevara wrote: »

Flannery O'Connor, raised in a small irish community in the protestant bible belt of the southern US. One of the finest exponents of southern-gothic. Very interesting character with a fascinating life story.

Just finished reading "Wise blood", & loved it!!:cool: Read nothing like it before...didn't get what ended up happening with Enoch though
...bit random

Bill2673

What about E Annie Proulx.......I've no idea if she has Irish roots but she has some top class Irish american characters in her novels and short stories/ Accordion Crimes/ Shipping News/ her most recent short story volume has a nice one built around Irish american characters.