Bailey Kennedy who writes at Paperbackgirl.com attended Wednesday’s reading that featured two great Irish writers, Colum McCann and John Banville, and notes:

The q+a session rounding out the evening had everyone in fits of laughter thanks to Banville’s dry wit and McCann’s gregariousness. The first question was directed at both writers and focused on the anxiety of influence as Irish writers. Banville leaned toward the mic and said, “We have giants or nothing. There are no mediocre writers. It is like the Easter Island statues are standing behind us saying ‘what have you done little man?’”

You can read more of her recap here and watch the video above for an excerpt from that Q&A. In addition to addressing the Irish writer legacy topic, they discuss the influence of their backgrounds in newspaper journalism on their writing and McCann answers a question about his relationship with New York City after writing Let the Great World Spin which he confesses: “I think I’ll probably go away for awhile just in order to love it again.”

Upcoming Readings: