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Colum McCann

Colum McCann Quotes

Writer

Colum McCann is an Irish writer known for his profound character development and rich narrative techniques. His works often explore the relationship between individuals and society, as well as deep insights into history and culture. Born on February 28, 1965, McCann's writing career began in the 1990s, and he has published numerous novels and short story collections.

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Famous Colum McCann Quotes

“When he got home, he said: "The first thing you lose in war is the truth.”

Inspirational Writing War Truth Journalism

Book:American Mother

Source: American Mother

“I write about what I know; and I write about things that are new to me, and that I didn't know before.”

Author:Colum McCann

“I write articles, and I do profiles of members of organizations and associations.”

Writing Members Organization Articles Association Profile

Author:Colum McCann

“That's what sons do: write to their mothers about recall, tell themselves about the past until they come to realize that they are the past.”

Writing Past Mother Realizing Son Recalls

Book:Let the Great World Spin: A Novel

Source: Let the Great World Spin: A Novel

“I love short stories. They're like small imploding universes. They are very tightly bound and controlled. I'd been wanting to write one for ages but just got tangled up in novels. The novel is the same in the sense that it is also a universe, but it explodes outwards with all that shrapnel going in several different directions. I don't see too much difference in the forms except for the fact that writing short stories is like sprinting rather than long-distance running.”

“I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if I can get them and grab them by the scruff of the neck and say, you can do this, and if I see that fire in their eyes, that's when I think I know a writer.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Writing I Can Eye Can Do Teach Fire Dialogue Necks Plot

Author:Colum McCann

“Ultimately, you can only ever write what you know. It's logically and philosophically impossible to write what you don't know.”

Knows Writing Impossible

Author:Colum McCann

“If you sort of see yourself writing into a space that you don't always recognize, you sometimes learn things that you knew, but weren't entirely aware of. It's very liberating for a writer to go into a space where she or he has not gone before, because, instead of being a tourist, you're like an explorer now, and you're sort of lost in this new idea.”

Ifs Writing Ideas Sometimes Lost Space Gone New Ideas Liberating Tourists Explorers

Author:Colum McCann

“If you have a structure beforehand, you're sort of stuffing your story into a pre-assembled box. You don't want that to happen. What you want in your writing is to have a sort of wildness that occurs. And then, out of the wildness, a structure emerges.”

Ifs Want Writing Stories Happens Structure Boxes What You Want Wildness

Author:Colum McCann

“Personally, I like the social novel. I like writing that gets in and under the hood and looks about - at what's going on. But I don't say to any writer that that's absolutely what they should do.”

Should Writing Looks Social Novel Hood

Author:Colum McCann

About the Author

Born: February 28, 1965
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 207

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Books & Sources

Let The Great World SpinRelated source material

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TransAtlanticRelated source material

Let the Great World Spin: A NovelRelated source material

American MotherRelated source material

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Zoli: A NovelRelated source material

TransAtlantic: A NovelRelated source material

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