Selected Stories: Benedict Kiely
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Selected Stories gathers together some of the best examples of the work of Benedict Kiely – a gifted man of letters who would have turned 100 in August 2019. From ‘Soldier, Red Soldier’ and ‘A Ball of Malt and Madame Butterfly’ to ‘A Letter to Peachtree’, these stories sing in the unforgettable voice of an Irish master who inspired, and will continue to inspire, generations of readers and writers alike.
The stories in this volume have a great deal taken from Ben’s own experiences both abroad and at home in Ireland. Kiely captures various moments in Irish and American culture, many heavily influenced by his time as a lecturer in Georgia, writer-in-residence in Virginia, and as a reporter for the Irish Press.
Benedict Kiely
Benedict Kiely is one of Ireland's leading writers of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. After a stint with a tubercular spinal complaint, he decided that the religious life was not for him and went on to study at University College Dublin. He worked for the Irish Independent as a journalist and critic before joining the Irish Press as a literary editor. His first novel, Land Without Stars, was published in 1946, and he went on to write many others, favouring the short story above other genres. In 1964 he moved to America and was a writer-in-residence at several universities. He returned to Ireland in 1968 and was named Saoi of Aosdána, the highest honour given by the Arts Council of Ireland. Benedict died in 2007; the Benedict Kiely Literary Weekend is held in September every year in Omagh to celebrate the author's achievements.
Ben Forkner
Ben Forkner, who edited the Selected Stories, recently retired as Professor of English at the University of Angers in France, where he founded the Journal of the Short Story thirty years ago. He has written many essays on writers from Ireland and the American South, and has edited a dozen anthologies, including Modern Irish Short Stories (Penguin), A New Book of Dubliners (Methuen), Stories of the Modern South (Penguin) and Louisiana Stories (Pelican). His most recent books include Cajun (a study of the Louisiana photographer Fonville Winans), and a new edition of John James Audubon's journals, Selected Journals and Other Writings, for Penguin Nature Classics. His afterword, 'The Long Way Round', for this selection of Benedict Kiely's stories was first presented as a talk at the Benedict Kiely Literary Weekend in Omagh.