It was quite an honor having best-selling author Colum McCann on campus yesterday to speak to Dr. Jane Donovan's sophomore English class about his book, Let the Great World Spin.
This critically-acclaimed novel follows the lives of several different characters that all either witnessed or heard about a tightrope walker walking between the World Trade Center buildings in August 1974. The novel shows how their lives become interconnected in one way or another just from their experience from this single event.
McCann also went on to talk about the many different encounters he faced which inspired him to become a writer, such as his time on the road in America, from biking to teaching juvenile delinquents who he met at a Baptist church service in Texas.
Towards the end of the lecture, McCann fielded several questions by students, ranging from "Why do you wear a scarf all the time?" to "Why did you decide to use several protagonists to tell your story?" and "What author influenced your writing the most?"
Colum McCann was born in Ireland in 1965. He is the author of six novels, most recently TransAtlantic, and two collections of stories. He has been the recipient of many international honors, including the National Book Award, the International Dublin Impac Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China and an Oscar nomination. His work has been published in over 35 languages. He lives in New York with his wife, Allison, and their three children. He teaches in the MFA program at Hunter College.
For more information on Colum McCann including interviews, books and contact information, visit hiswebsite.