We absolutely believed in Heaven and Hell, Purgatory, and even Limbo. I mean, they were actually closer to us than Australia or Canada, that they were real places. John McGahern absolutelyaustraliabelieve Change image and share on social
When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that found its first expression through reading. I really dislike the romantic notion of the artist. John McGahern artistbringdislike share on social
I've never written anything that hasn't been in my mind for a long time - seven or eight years. John McGahern havelongmind Change image and share on social
I belong to the middle class that grew up very influenced by the Catholic church. The people of the novel are from a more pagan and practical world in which the Christianity is just a veneer. John McGahern belongcatholicchristianity Change image and share on social
I think it's linked to the realisation that we're not going to live forever and that the way of saying and the language become more important than the story. John McGahern foreverimportantlanguage Change image and share on social
I feel I grew up in a different century than I live in. I think most of them are changes for the good. John McGahern centuryfeelgood Change image and share on social
I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is also a revelation of truth, or facts. John McGahern factfictionrevelation Change image and share on social
Everything that we inherit, the rain, the skies, the speech, and anybody who works in the English language in Ireland knows that there's the dead ghost of Gaelic in the language we use and listen to and that those things will reflect our Irish identity. John McGahern deadenglishgaelic share on social
I think that each of us inhabits a private world that others cannot see. The only difference between the writer and the reader is that the writer is able to dramatise that private world. John McGahern differencedramatiseinhabit Change image and share on social
I think technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to write is to read, and I see writing and reading as completely related. One almost couldn't exist without the other. John McGahern completelyexistlearn Change image and share on social
