Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, critic. and poet. Born in 1955, Tóibín grew up in Enniscorthy, Co. in the southeast of Ireland. He attended secondary school in Wexford and later studied at University College Dublin where he was graduated in 1975. Immediately after graduation, he decided to move to Barcelona where he lived until 1978.  The South, his first novel (published in 1990) is inspired by his experiences in Barcelona during the late seventies.

In 1990, he also published Homage to Barcelona, a work of non-fiction that explores the rich history and culture of the city. His work draws from his own experiences in this city during the turbulent years of transition from dictatorship to democracy. His observations in Homage celebrates the vibrant culture and art of Catalunya and provides insight into the dynamics that shape Catalan society. The book is witty, elegant, and written in an extremely engaged fashion.

In 2011, The Observer named Tóibín one of Britain's Top 300 Intellectuals. His literary output over the years has grown to 10 works of fiction and 18 of non-fictions. He currently holds the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professorship of the Humanities at Columbia University.