JP Donleavy

JP Donleavy

James Patrick Donleavy (born April 23, 1926 in Brooklyn , New York City , USA - † September 11, 2017 in Mullingar , County Westmeath , Ireland ) was an American-Irish writer .

Life

James Patrick Donleavy was born in 1926 to the Irish immigrants Margaret (née Walsh) (1891–1957) and Patrick John Donleavy (1891–1957) in Brooklyn , New York City . His father, who grew up with thirteen siblings on a small farm in Dam of Killasona, near Granard , County Longford , Ireland, began training as a priest before immigrating to the United States in 1913. He first worked as a florist and later as a firefighter. His mother, Margaret, had also grown up on a farm in Guilkagh East, near the town of Ballymoe, County Galway , and in 1907, when she was 16, emigrated to New York with her uncle, where she first lived with one of her aunts, later as Worked housekeeper for wealthy families. In 1922 she married Patrick John Dunleavy / Donleavy.

James Patrick Donleavy grew up with his older sister, Mary Rita (* March 25, 1923), and his younger brother Thomas Joseph ("TJ" - * July 21, 1928, † January 6, 2016) in a family influenced by Roman Catholicism . When Donleavy was seven years old, his family moved to Woodlawn ("Little Ireland") in the northern part of the Bronx . He was sent to Fordham Preparatory, a private Jesuit school for boys, but was expelled from school three years later. He then continued his education at various other schools. In his youth he boxed in the New York Athletic Club and aimed for the middleweight championship. At 18 he joined the United States Army Air Corps ( United States Air Force ). After the war he moved to Ireland. With the help of the GI Bill he took up a degree in bacteriology at Trinity College in Dublin in 1946 with the aim of becoming a doctor.

After only three years, JPD gave up his studies to initially devote himself entirely to painting - not yet writing. Jack Butler Yeats's exhibitions had evidently been “inspiration” and “revelation” to him. “It was such a wonderful revelation… It became an inspiration.” Material considerations were also not unimportant: “So, when I saw how much money Yeats was getting for his paintings, it struck me as a very good way to proceed in life. " (" When I saw how much money Yeats was getting for his paintings, it occurred to me that this was a good way to get ahead in life. ") On top of that, he was with John Ryan (see en: John Ryan (Dublin artist) ) was a close friend, who in turn brought him together with the artist group The White Stag Group (see en: The White Stag group ). As a result, he began to paint himself, set up a studio in Kilcoole , County Wicklow and had his first exhibition in 1949, which was followed by other solo exhibitions. Reviews of his works in the press were rather negative and JPD believed it was better off in the London art scene. He contacted The Redfern Gallery . There, however, he was informed that he was not yet well known for an exhibition. "My pictures were admired by a gallery in London, but they pointed out that quality and originality meant nothing unless you were already known. That was what forcefully started me writing books. " " (My pictures were admired by a gallery in London, but it was emphasized that quality and originality had no meaning at all if one was not yet known. That was what made me [then ] strongly encouraged to write books. ”) He decided to write a book that would make him known “ in every nook and cranny all over the world ” (“ in every corner of the world) ” . In the summer of 1951, he began writing The Ginger Man .

Donleavy has written humorous novels, plays, short stories, and non-fiction books. He became world famous with his first novel The Ginger Man , published in 1955 , which caused a scandal because of allegedly obscene passages. Since Donleavy could not find a publisher in Ireland and Great Britain, he left the book on the advice of his friend Brendan Behan to the French Olympia Press , which published it as part of an erotica series. For years Donleavy indignantly led lawsuits against the publisher Maurice Girodias , almost all of which he won. He took on Irish citizenship. In 2015 he received the Irish Book Award's Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award for his life's work .

From 1946 until the divorce in 1969 Donleavy was married to Valerie Heron, with whom he had a son and a daughter. In 1970 he married Mary Wilson Price, with whom he also had two children; the divorce took place in 1989. Since 1972 he lived in a country house near Mullingar in County Westmeath.

Works (selection)

• The Ginger Man (novel), 1955
  • German Ginger Man , 1963 (revised 1992)
• The Ginger Man (play), 1961
• Fairy Tales of New York (play), 1961
• A Singular Man (novel), 1963
  • German A Singular Man or A Fearful Hero , 1968
• Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule (short stories), 1964
  • dt. The Molecule Going Mad , 1970
• A Singular Man (play), 1965
• The Saddest Summer of Samuel S (short story), 1966
  • German Bad Summer for Samuel S. , 1970
• The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B (novel), 1968
  • German The bestial bliss of Balthasar B , 1971
• The Onion Eaters (novel), 1971
• The Plays of JP Donleavy (Collection), 1972
• A Fairy Tale of New York (novel), 1973
• The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners (Satire), 1975
• The Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman (novel), 1977
• Schultz (novel), 1979
• Leila (novel), 1983
• De Alfonce Tennis: The Superlative Game of Eccentric Champions Its History, Accoutrements, Rules, Conduct and Regimen (Satire), 1984
• JP Donleavy's Ireland in All of Her Sins and Some of Her Graces (non-fiction), 1986
• Are You Listening Rabbi Löw (novel), 1987
• A Singular Country (non-fiction), 1989
• That Darcy, That Dancer, That Gentleman (Novel), 1990
• The History of the Ginger Man: An Autobiography , 1994
• The Lady Who Liked Clean Rest Rooms ( short story), 1995
  • German A Lady in Need , 1999
• An Author and His Image (collection), 1997
• Wrong Information is Being Given Out at Princeton (Roman), 1998

Web links

• Literature by and about JP Donleavy in the catalog of the German National Library
• JP Donleavy in the nndb (English)
• JP Donleavy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Extensive, semi-official Donleavy website in English

supporting documents

1. ↑ The Irish Times September 14, 2017: JP Donleavy 1926-2017: A life in pictures
2. ^ Mary Rita Donleavy: "Patrick John Dunleavy: Patriot, Philosopher, Family Man: A Burst of Poetry," Xlibris Corp. 2013, pp. Xxiii + 18
3. ↑ Originally Patrick John Dunleavy; s. Mary Rita Donleavy: Patrick John Dunleavy. Patriot, Philosopher, Family Man: a Burst of Poetry. Xlibris Corp 2013
4. ^ The Guardian June 26, 2004: The spice of life
5. ↑ Mary Rita Donleavy: "A Woman's Odyssey: Land, Lineage and Legacy", in: Women 'Studies Review, Spring 2004, pp. 16-22 ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ The Guardian September 14, 2017: JP Donleavy obituary
7. ↑ ^{a b c} The Irish Times September 14, 2017: JP Donleavy obituary: acclaimed author of 'a bawled-out comic song of sex'
8. ↑ Electronic Telegraph April 11, 1998: Me and My God. JP Donleavy Talks to Frances Welch (Interview)
9. ↑ The Irish Independent August 1, 1999: The Man Who Loved Women (interview)
10. ↑ JP Donleavy Compendium - NY Daily News May 6, 2007: "Author and his image - Writer JP Donleavy returns to New York for a show of his artwork"
11. ↑ ^{a b} J.P. Donleavy Compendium - Another Side
12. ↑ The spice of life , author's biography in the Guardian of June 26, 2004, accessed March 27, 2014