August 15, 2024: Edna O’Brien, Rebel Daughter of Ireland

KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Edna O’Brien (1930-2024)

​​​​​The great Irish novelist and playwright Edna O’Brien died at the age of 93 on July 27, 2024 after a long illness. A controversial figure from the start, her first novel from 1960, The Country Girls, which dealt with sexual and social issues in Ireland following World War II, was banned in Ireland and denounced on the pulpit, and while she moved to London with her husband before publication, she never moved back to her native land.

This interview was conducted in the KPFA studios on April 28, 2000 while she was on tour for her novel, “Wild Decembers,” third in a thematic trilogy of novels set in the recent past in Ireland. It was later adapted for television in 2008..

Of Edna O’Brien, from Wikipedia, the novelist Andrew O’Hagan wrote, “She changed the nature of Irish fiction, she brought the woman’s experience and sex and internal lives of those people on to the page, and she did it with style, and she made those concerns international.” In her lifetime, Edna O’Brien wrote seventeen novels, several plays, eight short story collections, eight works of non-fiction, four children’s books and a collection of poems.

Edna O’Brien continued to write novels and plays well into her nineties. Her final novel, Girl, was published in 2019.

This interview was digitized, remastered and edited in August 2024 and is heard for the first time in its entirety. A second interview, recorded in 2003 while in San Francisco working on her play “Triptych” at the Magic Theatre will be posted on a later date.

John Sayles discusses his latest novel, “Jamie MacGillivray, The Renegade’s Journey,” along with his work as a writer and film-maker, with host Richard Wolinsky. Second of two parts.

John Sayles is best known for his work as a director, screenwriter and actor, though this is his sixth novel. Among the films he directed are Lone Star, Sunshine State, Eight Men Out, Matewan, The Brother from Another Planet, Baby It’s You and Passion Fish. His acting credits include small roles in several films, and he wrote the screenplay for the films he directed.

Complete Interview.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores
Bay Area Book Festival See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024.
Book Passage. Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
Books Inc. Mix of on-line and in-store events.
The Booksmith. Monthly Event Calendar.
BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar.
Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months.
Green Apple Books. Events calendar.
Kepler’s Books On-line Refresh the Page program listings.

Live Theater Companies
Actor’s Reading Collective (ARC). Outside the Box, July 1 – August 26. summer reading series. See website for dates.
African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar.
Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions.
American Conservatory Theatre Noel Coward’s Private Lives, September 12 – October 6, Toni Rembe Theatre.
Aurora Theatre Fallen Angels by Noel Coward, October 19 – November 17. Eureka Day staged reading to celebrate Broadway debut, September 23, 2024.
Awesome Theatre Company. Por La Noche (By Night), October 11 – 26, 2024. See website for information.
Berkeley Rep. Mexodus, September 13 – October 20, Peet’s Theatre.
Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows.
Boxcar Theatre. New Years Eve at the Speakeasy, Jan. 1, 2025. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre.
Brava Theatre Center: New Roots Theatre Festival, November 14-17. See calendar for current and upcoming productions.
BroadwaySF: Girl from the North Country, July 30-Aug 18, Golden Gate. See website for events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate.
Broadway San Jose: Disney’s Frozen, August 21 – September 1.
California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). As You Like it, September 12 – 29.
Center Rep: Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring September 8 -29. Lesher Center for the Arts.
Central Works Accused by Patricia Milton, July 13 – August 18. Extended.
Cinnabar Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings.
Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22.
Curran Theater: See website for special events..
Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation.
Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for upcoming shows.
42^nd Street Moon. Bright Star postponed.
Golden Thread 11 Reflections: San Francisco, October 4-5, Brava Theatre Center. See website for other events.
Hillbarn Theatre: Always…Patsy Cline, August 22 – September 15.
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body by Lisa B. Thompson, directed by Margo Hall. September 19 – October 6, 2024. Fort Mason.
Lower Bottom Playaz See website for upcoming productions.
Magic Theatre. Richard II by William Shakespeare, August 21 – September 8. See website for other events.
Marin Theatre Company Yaga by by Kat Sandler, October 10 – November 3, 2024.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page.
New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, September 20 – October 20.
Oakland Theater Project. Angels in America, Parts I & II, September 27 – October 26, Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael.
Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming.
Pear Theater. The Black Experience Festival, August 9 – 25.
Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances.
Ray of Light: Legally Blonde, September 7-29, 2024, Victoria Theatre. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
San Francisco Playhouse. Evita, June 27-September 7. 2024.
SFBATCO. Ten Year Turn-Up, September 20, Verdi Club, SF. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.
San Jose Stage Company: See website for upcoming schedule.
Shotgun Players. Collective Rage by Jen Silverman. July 20 – August 24. Extended.
South Bay Musical Theatre: No, No Nanette, Sept 28 – Oct. 19. Saratoga Civic Theater.
Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday.
The Breath Project. Streaming archive.
The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream.
Theatre Lunatico See website for upcoming productions.
Theatre Rhino Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. New Works Festival, August 9-18, Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto. King James by Rajiv Joseph, October 9 – November 3, 2024.
Word for Word. See website for upcoming productions.

Misc. Listings:
BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA.
Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings.
Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season.
Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows.
San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings.
San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings.

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [e-mail]

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