Literature

Book Launch: James F. Olwell's “The Art of Being Irish in Hell’s Kitchen”

A Memoir on the Organizing of the Irish Arts Center in New York City, 1972–1978

Past Event

Details

Free

2 hours

Date(s)

Sat, Dec 7, 2024

4:00pm - 6:00pm

Contact

boxoffice@irishartscenter.org
888-616-0274

Location

The JL Greene Theatre
Irish Arts Center
726 11th Avenue
Hell's Kitchen, NYC

Overview

This event is full, but some seats may be released. Please sign up here to be alerted should spaces open up.

This detailed memoir recounts James Olwell’s experiences amid the earliest days of the original Irish Arts Center, as a growing group of fellow Irish Americans and immigrants from Ireland and other backgrounds came together to celebrate Irish culture in 1970s New York. Olwell combines his personal accounts with extensive interviews and broader context to bring his story to life.

The launch of The Art of Being Irish in Hell’s Kitchen will take place in the JL Greene Theatre, with a reading and talkback with the author. Admission is free, though reservations are required.

"A captivating, often humorous first-hand account of how young people, seeking to assert their authenticity within the American mosaic, can transform communities through their own doing."

—Dr. Jim Torczyner, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, McGill University

Featuring

James Olwell

15th Annual PoetryFest

Donnacha Dennehy x Alarm Will Sound: Land of Winter

Our Supporters

Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government, foundation, and corporate partners including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Howard Gilman Foundation; Tourism Ireland; the Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Brandt Jackson Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; Charina Endowment Fund; the Ireland Funds; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; the Arnhold Foundation; the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; the Irish Institute of New York; the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater; the MacMillan Family Foundation; Bloomberg Philanthropies; the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York; Northern Ireland Bureau; Invest NI; CIE Tours; M&T Bank; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; the St. Patrick's Day Foundation, NYC; the Hyde and Watson Foundation; the H.W. Wilson Foundation; the Manhattan Tourism Foundation; and thousands of generous donors like you.