Award-winning author Colum McCann spoke at St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) on March 26 as part of Brooklyn Voices, the long-running collaboration between SJNY and Greenlight Bookstore.
McCann, born in Dublin, has published 13 books and won numerous international accolades, including the U.S National Book Award. He also has an Academy Award nomination for a short film script.
McCann discussed his newest novel, “Twist.”
McCann read an excerpt from the novel, which explores life’s biggest questions (love, belonging, connection) as it dives into the world of deep-sea underwater cables that carry information.
Phil Klay, author of “Redeployment” and a professor of fiction, led the discussion with McCann. The pair explored the book as well as the process of writing, touching on language and character development.
Said McCann, “the complicated messy middle is where storytelling happens.”
McCann also discussed Narrative 4, his non-profit organization that uses storytelling to build community engagement in schools. According to McCann, Narrative 4, which he co-founded in 2013, is now present in 42 countries and 37 U.S. states.
The Greenlight Brooklyn Voices series continues with Ezra Klein (April 24) and Ocean Vuong (May 14) next up at SJNY.
