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An Introduction to Imprint: Writer in Profile

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Imprint, a literature review programme, and its sister show Imprint: Writer in Profile screened on RTÉ1 for three seasons. Both were presented by Irish poet, writer and lecturer Theo Dorgan. Over the course of the Writer in Profile series Dorgan conducted extended, in-depth interviews with a wide range of Irish and international writers including Colm […]

Dermot Bolger – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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Novelist and poet Dermot Bolger sits down with Theo Dorgan to discuss his life and work. In particular, he explores the misperception of his writing as ‘realism’, his establishment of Raven Arts and his admiration of W.B. Yeats. Other topics are  discussed including dealing with death and loss, criticism and ‘coincidental writing’. Bolger compares the […]

J.G Ballard – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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In this episode, Theo Dorgan meets English novelist, short story writer and essayist J.G. Ballard to delve into his oeuvre of science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels, such as The Drowned World and Crash. Empire of the Sun is explored as an autobiographical account of a young British boy’s experience in Shanghai during Japanese occupation. Dorgan […]

Edward Said – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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In this episode, cultural critic Edward Said describes himself as ‘a writer for occasion’ – caught between journalism and being a ‘long distance runner’. Said discusses his upbringing; his status as a Palestinian intellectual; his  de-mystification of (particularly American) imperialism; and his positive response to criticism. Theo Dorgan questions him about his memoir Out of […]

Joseph O’Connor – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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In this episode award-winning Irish author Joseph O’Connor explores his many forms of storytelling from fiction to scriptwriting, and journalism with Theo Dorgan. O’Connor expresses a belief in the political responsibility of the writer to impact society and the revival he believes is happening in contemporary Irish fiction. The pair talk about his collection of […]

Margaret Atwood – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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Canadian writer Margaret Atwood is perhaps best known for The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel that was recently adapted into a gripping TV series. This episode was filmed in 2001 and delves into, what Atwood describes as, her ‘precocious’ childhood, her early writer’s block and her desire to be a painter. She discusses how she wrote […]

Richard Ford – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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American novelist and short story writer Richard Ford opens up about his childhood dyslexia, the slowness of his writing and his beginnings in poetry. He talks to Theo Dorgan about earning a reputation as a ‘dirty realist’ after his novels The Sportswriter and Independence Day. Ford originally wanted to join the police force and had […]

Thomas Kilroy – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy was born in Limerick and through a career spanning fifty years, he has resisted fixed categories and boundaries in both his stagecraft and themes of his plays. This episode begins with a discussion about what interviewer Theo Dorgan refers to as a ‘double life’ – Kilroy’s role as a playwright and […]

Gore Vidal – Imprint: Writer in Profile

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This episode of Writers in Profile features the novelist, playwright, screenwriter and essayist, Gore Vidal. We gain a glimpse of Vidal’s early childhood, the controversy around his novel The City and the Pillar, and his experience writing scripts for films such as Ben Hur (1959). A desire to dissect the roots of American society has […]