Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Collecting (and Reading) (and Watching) (and Looking at) the Irish


Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all. Today you might as well start your collection of fine books from Ireland. AbeBooks gives you a brief primer on collecting the Irish. Book Patrol also revels in antiquarian Irish books.

From the piece...

It is said Ireland’s greatest contribution to the world of arts and culture has been its literature. Always known for a rich oral and storytelling tradition, Ireland transformed into a literate island with the coming of Christianity in 400-500 AD (heralded by St. Patrick himself). Monks were hard at work illuminating Gospel manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells, while the rest of Europe began its descent into the Dark Ages.

Modern Irish writing, however, began with Jonathan Swift, whose masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels (1726), is still widely read in schools.


And if collecting books isn't your thing, reading must be. That said, the Daily Beast offers some fine Irish reading selections to put an (Irish) spring in your step.

And while we're at it, why not watch the Big Think Interview with Irish author and actor Malachy McCourt?



And, well, since we've got a theme going here, here are a collection of Then & Now images of Ireland from Flickr. Enjoy.



Finally, 7 things you didn't know about leprechauns.

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