The Collected Letters of Flann O'Brien

by Flann O'Brien, Maebh Long (Editor)

An unprecedented gathering of the correspondence of one of the great writers of twentieth century, The Collected Letters of Flann O'Brien presents an intimate look into the life and thought of Brian O'Nolan, a prolific author of novels, stories, sketches, and journalism who famously wrote and presented works to the reading public under a variety of pseudonyms.

Genres: Irish Literature

612 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Pseudonym of Brian Ó Nualláin , also known as Brian O'Nolan.

His English novels appeared under the name of Flann O’Brien, while his great Irish novel and his newspaper column (which appeared from 1940 to 1966) were signed Myles na gCopaleen or Myles na Gopaleen – the second being a phonetic rendering of the first. One of twelve brothers and sisters, he was born in 1911 in Strabane, County Tyrone, into an Irish-speaking family. His father had learned Irish while a young man during the Gaelic revival the son was later to mock. O’Brien’s childhood has been described as happy, though somewhat insular, as the language spoken at home was not that spoken by their neighbours. The Irish language had long been in decline, and Strabane was not in an Irish-speaking part of the country. The family moved frequently during O’Brien’s childhood, finally settling in Dublin in 1925. Four years later O’Brien took up study in University College Dublin.

Flann O'Brien is considered a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature. Flann O'Brien novels have attracted a wide following for their bizarre humour and Modernist metafiction.

The café and shop of Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich (www.culturlann.ie), at the heart of the Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter, is named An Ceathrú Póilí ("The Fourth Policeman"), as a play-on-words of the title of O'Brien's book The Third Policeman.

Reviews

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Почти 40 страниц вводных замечаний и обоснований того и сего, но толку-то. По ходу выясняется, что составительница полагает, будто книгу будут читать только женщины, поскольку reader у нее только herself. Оборотная сторона сексизма, не иначе - ну или политкорректная глупость: только женщинам нужны эти комментарии, мужчины и так все поймут. Кроме того, наша исследовательница отчего-то уверена, что "Нокнагоу" Чарлза Кикэма - это сборник рассказов, а театр "Ворота" основан в 1961 году (на самом деле в 28-м). Ну и сноска на то, кто такой Хитлер, дорогого стоит (с Хрущевым понятно, его действительно не все помнят). Ну и язык ФОБ она считает "фашистским" за то, что наш герой называет негров неграми.
Вместе с тем, ценнейшее же тут даже не сами тексты писем, которые суть продолжение журнализма, кроме тех случаев, когда читать довольно постыдно, поскольку не для печати они предназначались, а комментарии к ним, которые создают тот фон, без которого ФОБ просто не понять. Ну а сами письма, среди прочего, еще и школа того, как вести полемику в насквозь литературизованном обществе (пусть даже одного города), где каждая реплика просто обязана иметь развлекательную ценность. С Монтгомери же они вообще переписывались вполне современными тредами, пересылая друг другу одно письмо с пометками, примечаниями и комментариями на полях.
Из очень полезного. В конце 30-х годов ФОБ хотел переводить "Горшок золота" Стивенза на ирландский. Стивенз упорствовал, и в ход было пущено несколько стратагем, засылались казачки. Так и не удалось, в итоге.
И нашлись подтверждения тому, что ФОБ ездил не только в Германию в 30-х (хотя по-прежнему непонятно, чем он там занимался), но и в 40-х в Штаты (не говоря про командировки в Лондон по работе). Не знаю, почему этот факт меня так радует.
Кроме этого занимательное: конец 30-х - начало 40-х - подлинный бум театра. Американские корреспонденты, включая Сарояна и агентов, наперебой советуют ему не писать романов, а превращать их в пьесы, "Третьего полицейского" в частности. Переписка  с Сарояном, кстати, была очень активна, я и не представлял, насколько. А еще тут практически полностью приведена та подборка бредовых писем, благодаря которым и появился Майлз, а ФОБ начал вести колонку. Ну что сказать про них? Они прекрасны. А вот с Бекеттом они не дружили. Бекетт обиделся на ФОБ на какой-то пьянке в 1939 году и не забыл обиды.
И еще из познавательного и трогательного - бесконечные пересылки рукописей, разметка их и потеря, особено в поздние годы, разные версии, все это "теплое ламповое" письмо, которое дает столько занятий нынешним исследователям. Сейчас все, конечно, гораздо действенней и скучнее происходит.
А печаль в том, что после "Архива Долки" ФОБ собирался писать "непристойную книжицу на ирландском 'Сильвы Гаделики', с поэзией и всем остальным".

[Kevin Tole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myles na gCopaleen, Flann O'Brien were just two of the many names that Brian O'Nolan wrote under. An Irish scholar and civil servant he was the perennial ingenue of Irish writing with his most prolific work coming through his regular column, "Cruiskeen Lawn" for the Irish Times. As well as his 'journalism' work he also wrote novels, plays and numerous articles and was widely translated and published. This collection of his letters and some replies are an insight into the mind of a polymath whose work was greatly underestimated during his life and which now has stood the test of time to be up there in the canon of world literature. At Swim-Two-Birds is truly groundbreaking with its novel within novel within novel, a triumph in metafiction before metafiction.

This collection of letters spans the complete period from the 30's through to just short of his death in 1966. They bring a sharp insight into his world. The early part consists of a number of his satirical writings to newspaper letter columns where at times he contributes several times under different noms-de-plume with much hilarity and general poking the fun at what he commonly saw as levels of humbug and hogwash within the world of Irish literati and intellectual scene as well as having a good craic at anything else that took his fancy. Many are hilarious and take the rise out of those that cannot do anything but take the bait and reply. Much of the character of this satirical laugh-making as carried through into his many columns for the Irish Times to give a column of wit and humour and general thorn-in-the-side of humbuggery that is now sadly lacking in today's newspaper columnists which appear so full of their own pomp and bourgeois self-righteousness prevalent in those risen too far above their own stations and abilities. These are people that laugh at their own jokes and full of their own trendiness.

O'Brien's writing and general demeanour were both helped and hindered by his partaking of the odd or three balls of malt and copious quantities of porter and Arthur's Finest. He is said to have been an alcoholic, his uptake steadily increasing and for it to have been one of the reasons for his departure in 1953 from the Irish Civil Service in which he rose to become private secretary to a minister whilst at the same time contributing his columns pseudonymously. That he was aware of his own position as an alcoholic is more than likely as his final dismissal was based on his determination not to be subject to scrutiny from a doctor within the Civil Service. Things changed somewhat with the publication in 1939 of At Swim-Two-Birds even though authored by Flann O'Brien. The letters give the picture of someone constantly fighting for his royalties with the publishing companies and agents as well as arguing with the ever-present scourge of all writers - the Taxman - over double taxation from proceeds from European and American sales. To the end of his days he virtually disowned ASTB seeing it as a juvenile piece of flummery (which is a great shame but yer man had his own ways). What of course is missing is anything really on the second masterpiece The Third Policeman which he must have been writing on and off but remained unpublished during his lifetime till finally the manuscript was rediscovered in a sideboard after his death. Many's the good night that's been had discoursing on the relative styles and merits of these two masterpieces with opinion commonly divided as to which is the better book but generally all are agreed on the superlative qualities of both.

The letters to friends and colleagues show a witty and well-read man with his own foibles and faults but are incredibly warm and hearty. Punctilious in his punctuation and proud of his knowledge of Irish he rarely let errors go by without taking a swing at them. The letters also describe his failing health, hospital visits and accidents involving buses, trams, cars, fractures, dislocations and various forms of neuralgia that beset him. Little is shown of his private life. In fact from the letters here you'd be hard pressed to know that he was married but childless and maintained close contact with his siblings.

Anyway..... its worth the read and Maebh Long has done a great job pulling these letters together. It only remains to tell youse all to read as much of his work as you can get yer mauls on. I'd also thoroughly recommend reading Anthony Cronin's biography of the great man No Laughing Matter: The Life and Times of Flann O'Brien.

You'll find a far better review here https://stingingfly.org/review/the-co...

[Richard Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of letters to and from Brian O'Nolan, (aka Miles na Gopoleen and Flann O'Brien). I can't say I have read every one but I have been through the book and have been amused, intrigued and interested by what I have read. Flann O'Brien was an entertaining writer whose novels and columns have delighted me over a long period since I first discovered him in the 1970's. There is a little of the whimsy but much more of the travails of a jobbing writer. It's worth the effort and I will return to the collection.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloomsday, formerly known as Samhain, is probably my favorite European holiday, other than Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. I'll never forget coming in fifth place with a competition entitled "The most memorable quote contest" on that very day.

My quote was the following: As an unpublished poet I don't ask for much. I just hope I've changed the way you think about life.

Ironically, because the top fifteen quotes were printed in the local paper**, I was unable to ever use the quote again with full conviction. And with my recent weight gain, I would almost have to believe that my new quote could be "Are you going to finish that?"

But I kid. And I kid you not.

Anyway, at the event I dressed up just like Godot, but no one knew who I was.


** Quote twelve was unintentionally omitted. Source: Dublin Journal June 17 2013.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think there was correspondence from a rejected author more tragic than John Kennedy Toole's letters to Gottlieb. Reading the letters after The Third Policemen is enough to make you cry.

[Marco Ocram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me begin as the great man might have begun, with the cheapest of cracks at the title. Why not simply The Letters of Flann O'Brien? The most obtuse and unobservant of readers will have grasped that they are collected- bound, as they are, between the covers of the book in their lumpen mitts. That said, I suppose that from the editor's perspective, when you have gone to so much trouble to collect the correspondence, you might feel justified in gaining a little credit by stressing the fact.

Gratuitous quips aside, I found this is a hugely thought-provoking read, the letters spanning from the 1930s, shortly before the publication of his ground-breaking novel At Swim-Two-Birds, to his death in the 1960s (I am too lazy to slog upstairs to check the dates). They tell the story of a young writer of dazzling verve and invention whose first novels- written in his twenties and now regarded as classics- flopped hideously. Perhaps the most moving letter for me was that in which his agent broke the news that no publisher was interested in his second novel- The Third Policeman. Even vicariously, I could almost feel its impact in my gut. Heaven knows how he reacted. If he became an embittered alcoholic in his later years, few could blame him.