Desmond Hogan (born 10 December 1950) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

writer. Awarded the 1977

Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is awarded to Irish writers aged ...

and 1980

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom ...

, his oeuvre comprises novels, plays, short stories and travel writing. The ''Cork Examiner'' said: "Like no other Irish writer just now, Hogan sets down what it's like to be a disturbed child of what seems a Godforsaken country in these troubled times." The ''Irish Independent'' said he is "to be commended for the fidelity and affection he shows to the lonely and the downtrodden." ''The Boston Globe'' said there "is something mannered in Hogan's prose, which is festooned with exotic imagery and scattered in sentence fragments." A contemporary of

Bruce Chatwin Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, ...

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

, Peter Carey,

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...

and a close friend of

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most cr ...

, he has since vanished off the literary scene. In October 2009, he was placed on the sexual offenders list.

Biography

Hogan was born in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

in east County Galway. His father was a draper. Educated locally at St. Grellan's Boys' National School and St. Joseph's College,

Garbally St. Joseph's College, Garbally Park (Irish: ''Coláiste Sheosaimh Naofa'') is an Irish voluntary Catholic secondary school situated in Garbally Park, the former seat of the Earl of Clancarty, near Ballinasloe in County Galway. It is a single-s ...

Park, some of his earliest work was published in ''The Fountain'', the Garbally college

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

. After leaving school, Hogan travelled to France, ending up in Paris just after the student riots of 1968. He later studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD), where he received a BA in 1972 and an MA in 1973. In 1971 he won the Hennessy Award. The Irish Writers' Co-operative, formed by writer Fred Johnston,

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian ...

and playwright

Peter Sheridan Peter Sheridan (born 1952) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in Dublin. His awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. In 1980 he was writer-in-residence in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and his short film, Th ...

at a meeting in a Dublin restaurant, were to publish Hogan's ''The Ikon Maker'', which was also the Co-op's first publication. While in Dublin, he worked as a street actor and had a number of plays – ''A Short Walk to the Sea'', ''Sanctified Distances'', and ''The Squat'' – produced in the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

and the

Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a thr ...

. RTÉ and

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

broadcast some of his plays, including ''Jimmy''. He also published stories in small magazines such as ''Adam'' and the ''

Transatlantic Review Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

''. Later he moved to London, living in Tooting,

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

and

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

and then later as a lodger in the

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

home of

Anthony Farrell Anthony Farrell (born 17 January 1969) is an English former professional rugby league footballer. He played at representative level for England, Wales, and at club level for the Huddersfield Giants, Sheffield Eagles, Leeds Rhinos, Widnes Vikin ...

, a young Irish publisher. Friends and acquaintances from this period included: writer Jaci Stephen, biographer Patrick Newley,

and his partner, Lorna. Hogan also participated in poetry and literature readings held at Bernard Stone's Turrett Bookshop on Floral Street in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. His debut novel, ''The Ikon-Maker'', was written in 1974 and published in 1976. It deals with a mother's unwilling recognition of her son's homosexuality. In 1977, he was the recipient of the

, though this event remained undiscovered in America for several years until the ''

Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'' reported the revelation to its readers in 1981. In 1978, he participated in the Santa Cruz Writers Conference. In the early 1980s, Hogan was represented by

Deborah Rogers Deborah Jane Coltman Rogers, Baroness Berkeley of Knighton (6 April 1938 – 30 April 2014) was a British literary agent, who founded her own agency in 1967. Biography Born at her parents' London home in Thurloe Square, South Kensington, Rog ...

' literary agency, which also had Peter Carey,

and

on its books. In 1980, he won the

for his ''Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea'' collection of short stories. In 1981, he appeared in

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

. In 1989, Hogan left London and was a Hudson Strode Fellow at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. In 1991, Hogan was awarded a place on the DAAD (German Academic Exchange) Berlin Artists' Programme fellowship which enabled him to live in that city. It was in Berlin that he fell in love with a young man called Sammy (who died, apparently of AIDS-related illness, a few years later), with whom he traveled. These travels together yielded a collection travel writing, ''The Edge of the City: A Scrapbook 1976-1991'', in 1993. After this, Hogan moved on to Prague, grief-stricken, where he wrote ''Farewell to Prague'' (1995). Hogan returned to Ireland in 1995, living in

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capi ...

, County Galway. For a period, he lived in an old caravan in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

along North Kerry/West Limerick border. In 1997, he lectured in short fiction at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. He was a judge in the 2005

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

, worth €50,000. Interested in history, painting, traveller culture, he has used a typewriter since he was a child and finds the modern transition to computers difficult. Suspicious of the telephone, he prefers to communicate using postcards.

Sexual assault

Hogan was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. The assault happened on 11 November 2006 in a house Hogan was renting. He was given a two-year suspended jail sentence, placed on the sex offenders register, and ordered not to have unsupervised contact with children. The judge, Carroll Moran, made the judgement that there was a "moderate to low" likelihood of

recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

for Hogan. However, Hogan's parole officer, Nora Brassil, stated in an earlier hearing that Hogan saw the assault as "a mutual sexual incident/ relationship". She was concerned that if Hogan did not see what he had done as wrong, he might transgress again.

Readings

* 1970s: Participated in readings in The Sarsfield Bar, Rutland Street. Limerick. Organised by John Liddy. * 26 July 1989: Galway Arts Centre, Galway Arts Festival. * 2002: Sean Dunne Literary festival * 21–22 September 2002: Annual International Frank O'Connor Festival of the Short Story * 8 July 2004. Dublin. Launch of Munster Literature Centre journal ''Southword'' * 2004: Galway County Library * 20 April 2005:

Cúirt International Festival of Literature The Cúirt International Festival of Literature (pronounced ) is an annual literary festival held since 1985 in Galway in Ireland. The Irish language word ''cúirt'' means "court". The festival consists of a variety of events taking place over th ...

, Galway (along with

Ronan Bennett Ronan Bennett (born 14 January 1956) is an Irish novelist and screenwriter. Background Bennett, the son of William H. and Geraldine Bennett, was born in England, but was raised in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, in a devout Roman Catholic famil ...

)

Legacy

Hogan features in a number of major anthologies of modern Irish literature.

William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016), known by his pen name William Trevor, was an Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of th ...

included him in ''The Oxford Book of Irish Stories'' and

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...

selected his story "Winter Swimmers" for ''The Penguin Book of Irish Writing''. He appears in ''The Anchor Book of New Irish Writing''. He appears in the anthology ''Best European Fiction 2012'', edited by

Aleksandar Hemon Aleksandar Hemon ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Xeмoн; born September 9, 1964) is a Bosnian-American author, essayist, critic, television writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels '' Nowhere Man'' (2002) and '' The Lazarus Pr ...

, with a preface by

Nicole Krauss Nicole Krauss (born August 18, 1974) is an American author best known for her four novels '' Man Walks into a Room'' (2002), ''The History of Love'' (2005), ''Great House'' (2010) and '' Forest Dark'' (2017), which have been translated into 35 l ...

(Dalkey Archive Press). Another Irish writer

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and h ...

, claims that Hogan, along with

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 193 ...

, is one of two Irish writers who have influenced him greatly.

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

, an American writer, much admires his story "Winter Swimmers". According to

Robert McCrum John Robert McCrum (born 7 July 1953) is an English writer and editor, holding senior editorial positions at Faber and Faber over seventeen years, followed by a long association with ''The Observer''. Early life The son of Michael William McC ...

, former Literary Editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', Hogan is "one of Ireland's finest writers".

Awards and honours

* 1971 Hennessy Award * 1977

* 1980

List of works

Novels

''The Ikon Maker'' * Dublin, Co-Op Books, 1976 * London: Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, 1979, * New York: Braziller, 1979, * London: Pulsiver, 1987, (PB) * London: Faber and Faber, 1993, (PB) ''The Leaves on Grey'' * London, Hamish Hamilton, 1980, * New York: Braziller, 1980, * Thorndike Press, USA, 1980 (Large Type) * London: Pan Books, 1981, ''A Curious Street'' * London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984, * New York: Braziller, 1984, (HB) * London: Pan, 1985, (PB) ** Published in German as: ''Eine merkwürdige Straße'', Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1997, ''A New Shirt'' * London: Hamish Hamilton, 1986 * London: Faber and Faber, 1987, ''A Farewell to Prague'' * London: Faber and Faber, 1995, * Champaign, London, Dublin: Dalkey Archive Press, 2013,

Short story collections

''Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea and Other Stories'' * London: Hamish Hamilton, 1979, (HB) * New York: Braziller, 1980, (HB) ''Children of Lir: Stories from Ireland'' * London: Hamish Hamilton, 1981, * New York: Braziller, 1981. ''Stories: the Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea, Children of Lir'' * London: Picador, 1982, (PB) ''The Mourning Thief and Other Stories'' * London, Faber and Faber, 1987 ''Lebanon Lodge'' * London: Faber and Faber, 1988 * London: Faber and Faber, 1989, (PB) ''A Link With the River. Stories'' * S edition of ''The Mourning Thief'' and ''Lebanon Lodge''* New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1989, (HB), (PB) ''Elysium: Stories'' * Berlin: Aufbau-Verlag, 1995, ''Lark's Eggs: New and Selected Stories'' * Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 2005, ''Old Swords and other stories'' *Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 2009, ''The House of Mourning and Other Stories'' *Champaign, London, Dublin: Dalkey Archive Press, 2013, ''The History of Magpies'' *Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 2017,

Travel writing

''The Edge of the City: A Scrapbook 1976–91'' * Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1993, * London: Faber & Faber, 1993,

Plays

''A Short Walk to the Sea'' (1976) * staged by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin on 20 October 1976. * published with Paschal Finnan's The Swine and the Potswalloper, by Co-Op Books, Dublin in 1979. ''Sanctified Distances'' (1976) * staged by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin on 9 December 1976. ''The Squat'' (1976) * Performed at the Project Arts Centre's Festival, Dublin in 1976. ''The Mourning Thief'' (TV) * his first television play. ''The Ikon Maker'' (1980) * staged by Green Fields and Far Away Theatre Company, touring UK 1980.

Contributions and introductions in edited volumes, journals, magazines, etc.

in: Kevin Casey (ed.), ''Winter's Tales From Ireland 2'', Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1972, "The Birth of Laughter", in Joseph Hone (ed), ''Irish Ghost Stories'', London: Hamish Hamilton, 1977, "Southern Birds", in: ''Granta'' (1980) 3, in: T. J. Binding (ed.), ''Firebird 1: Writing Today'', London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 1982. "Alan's Novel", in: Robin Robertson (ed.), ''Firebird 3'', London: Penguin, 1984, Introduction to Kate O'Brien's, ''Without my cloak'', London: Virago, 1984, pbk (also Harmondsworth: Penguin 1987, and London: Virago, 2001, ) "The Tipperary Fanale", in: Judy Cooke & Elizabeth Bunster (eds.), The Best of Fiction Magazine, London: J.M. Dent, 1986, pp. 236–249, "Guy "Micko" Delaney" (novelette), in: Robin Baird-Smith (ed.), Winter’s Tales, New Series: 4, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988, pp. 21–45, "The cold wind and the warm", in: Alberto Manguel & Craig Stephenson (eds), In another part of the forest : an anthology of gay short fiction, New York: Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1994, David Marcus (ed.), ''Alternative Loves: Irish Gay and Lesbian Stories'', Dublin: Martello Books, 1994, "Jimmy", in: David Leavitt & Mark Mitchell (eds.), ''The Penguin Book Of Gay Short Stories'', New York: Viking, 1994, (republished in 2004, ) "A Curious Street", in: Dermot Bolger (ed.), ''The Vintage Book of Contemporary Irish Fiction'', New York: Vintage, 1995, "Afternoon", in: Steve MacDonagh (ed.), Brandon Book of Irish Short Stories, Dingle: Brandon, 1998, "A country dance", in: Colm Tóibín (ed.), ''The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction'', London: Penguin, 1999, and "The bombs", in: John Somer and John J. Daly (eds.), ''Anchor Book of New Irish Writing: The New Gaelach Ficsean'', Anchor, 2000, "Eine seltsame Straße", in: Dirck Linck (ed.), ''Sodom ist kein Vaterland. Literarische Streifzüge durch das schwule Europa'', Berlin: Querverlag, 2001, pp. 175–182, "Airedale", in: William Trevor (ed.), ''The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories'', Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002, Andrew O'Hagan and Colm Tóibín, ''New Writing 11'', Picador 2002, "Barnacle Geese", in: Sebastian Barker (ed.), ''The London Magazine'', June/July 2004, ISSN 0024-6085 "Iowa", in: Sebastian Barker (ed.), ''The London Magazine'', February/March 2005, ISSN 0024-6085 "Rose of Lebanon", in: Rebecca Bengal (ed.), ''American Short Fiction'', Issue 33, Winter 2006, ISSN 1051-4813 "Shelter", in: Sebastian Barker (ed.), ''The London Magazine'', February/March 2005, ISSN 0024-6085 "The Hare's Purse", in: Stacey Swann, Rebecca Bengal, Jill Meyers (ed.), ''American Short Fiction'', Issue 38, Summer 2007, ISSN 1051-4813

References

External links

Desmond Hogan
at Irish Writers Online
Desmond Hogan
at Irish Playography
Lilliput Press, the author's publisher
* Donoghue, Denis

''The New York Times'', 16 July 1989 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogan, Desmond 1950 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Irish male dramatists and playwrights Irish people convicted of child sexual abuse Irish male short story writers 20th-century Irish short story writers 20th-century travel writers Irish travel writers John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners People from Ballinasloe People from County Galway 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish novelists Irish LGBT dramatists and playwrights Irish LGBT novelists Irish male novelists International Writing Program alumni 21st-century Irish short story writers 21st-century Irish male writers People educated at Garbally College Violence against men in Europe 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish LGBT people