Pour out St. Patrick's Day fun - Muncie Star Press

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Pour out St. Patrick's Day fun - Muncie Star Press Mar 16th 2012, 07:22 Pour out St. Patrick's Day fun For a short time next weekend, with enough green beer and Guinness in their gullets, a whole lot of folks will be Irish. At least they'll think they are -- those in their green bowler hats, quoting Brendan Behan. Brendan Behan? Ah, come on. He's the tragic writer of Borstal Boy (an autobiography) and The Quare Fellow (a play inspired by his time in jail). He volunteered with the Irish Republican Army, notoriously described himself as "a drinker with a writing problem" and died at the age of 41 from alcohol-related ailments. His picture hangs on the walls of a lot of pubs. Still not ringing a bell? The Pogues -- that Celtic punk band that's actually from London -- sing about Behan in Thousands Are Sailing and quote him in the song Sea Shanty. Right. See, there's a lot more to Irish culture than leprechauns and Michael Flatley. We've compiled a few cultural references you can let slip over a pint on St. Patrick's Day: On the page • James Joyce: He's considered one of the most important writers of the early 20th century -- not just in Ireland, in the English-speaking world. Ask people to name one of his works, and they'll probably say Ulysses, the 1922 novel based on Homer's Odyssey. It's not an easy read, with all that stream-of-consciousness business. Instead, try Dubliners, a collection of short stories published in 1914. And if you've got time for only one of these stories? Pick the last story -- The Dead. It's a longish one about life and death, and was made into a movie by John Huston (1988). • Juno and the Paycock: This play by Sean O'Casey was a big, big deal in 1924, and people still go crazy over it when it plays in American theaters. It's set in a working-class tenement in Dublin during the Irish civil war and was controversial for its realistic, gritty portrayal of the country's political conflict and the conflict among members of the poor Boyle family. The play's been credited with saving the Abbey Theatre in Dublin because big controversy meant big ticket sales in 1924. (Page 2 of 2) Juno and the Paycock is the second in a trilogy by O'Casey -- it comes between The Shadow of a Gunman (1923) and The Plough and the Stars (1926). • Other (old) guys: If you're going to march down the Irish-literature path, there are a few other Irish writers you would be fool not to mention -- Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest), Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot, Endgame), William Butler Yeats (The Tower and The Winding Stair and Other Poems), Bram Stoker (Dracula), George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion). On the screen • The Shore: Named Best Live-Action Short at last month's Academy Awards, this film runs just 30 minutes, yet takes its time telling the story of two reunited childhood friends (a solid, handsomely hangdog Ciaran Hinds and a fretful but warm Conleth Hill). Director Terry George lets the comic moments play out as long as they need to while underscoring the deep bonds in the Northern Irish coastal town where the film is set. Available as part of a live-action Oscar shorts program on cable on demand, and separately on iTunes. • Once: Sure, all Irish films have music. But not like this low-budget, heartfelt 2006 movie that follows a Dublin busker (Glen Hansard) as he falls musically and romantically for a Czech pianist (Marketa Irglova) living in Ireland. Fresh, immediate and filled with wonderful folk-pop tunes, Once takes a grown-up approach to affairs of the heart that immediately separates it from Hollywood movies and their rom-com cliches. Hansard and Irglova won the Best Song Oscar for Falling Slowly from Once, and they still perform together as the Swell Season. A Broadway adaptation of the film opens in a week. In the glass Have a pint of green beer if that's what you're after. Or consider something a wee bit more refined, such as a glass of Red Breast 12-year-old Irish Whiskey, or pull out your pot of gold and order a Middleton Irish Whiskey. Slainte. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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