Derek Mahon, best known as a poet, worked as a freelance journalist for many years, and his first prose book, Journalism, brings together a selection of his feature articles, lectures and book reviews.
Some of these, like the essays on MacNeice and Beckett, Brian Moore and J.G. Farrell, are seriously ‘literary’ in nature; while others, like the reports from Coleraine, Rome and Los Angeles, are more discursive and relaxed, if not downright mischievous.
‘Mahon’s Journalism is a welcome addition to the body of work written by the poet. With it in hand we can begin to appreciate the range of Mahon’s interests over the last twenty years.’ — Derek Coyle, Irish Literary Supplement
‘Derek Mahon, besides his acknowledged quality as a poet, is a fine critic and an excellent literary journalist . . . open the book just about anywhere, and you will find yourself reading and then going back to the beginning.’ — Brian Fallon, The Irish Times
