Oisín McKenna

May 9, 2024

Oisín McKenna, a talented writer and performer from Dublin, shares insights from his debut novel, Evenings and Weekends. He discusses his passion for spoken word and performance art, influenced by figures like David Hoyle and Oscar Wilde. Oisín explores the intersection of art, class, and sexuality, emphasizing the impact of political and social conditions on daily life. He also highlights how his connection to visual art shapes his writing process, particularly focusing on the architectural aesthetics of post-war Britain.

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ANECDOTE

Early Art Exposure

Oisín McKenna's primary school teacher brought students on cultural outings.
This introduced him to art galleries and the celebrated gay figure Oscar Wilde.

INSIGHT

Art and Class

Art can be a class signifier due to accessibility and perceived exclusivity.
People may feel excluded or intimidated by art spaces, hindering engagement.

ANECDOTE

Tate Modern Visit

Oisín McKenna took his family to the Tate Modern, but they were derisive of the art.
He enjoyed understanding the "difficult art" while his family rejected it.

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We meet writer Oisín McKenna to discuss his debut novel Evenings and Weekends which is released today!

We discuss Oisín‘s passion for spoken word and performance art and discover his early years inspired by artists like David Hoyle, Penny Arcade, Taylor Mac or Lucy McCormick. We learn how museums like the National Gallery, Dublin improved his life, the impact of his art teacher, and his love of the work of Caravaggio, Doris Salcedo, Oscar Wilde and Wolfgang Tillmans. We explore the relationship between art, class, and sexuality, and how this has inspired his writing.

Oisín makes work about love, money, health and history. He’s interested in the ways that political, economic and social conditions shape how we act, think, and feel at particular places and times. He writes about the mundane details of people’s daily lives in order to tell a bigger story about the world.

“I still don't know that many writers but I know a lot of artists. Most of the conversations I have about artistic processes are with visual artists rather than writers, and I feel my process is more influenced by a visual art approach than by a literary one. The book is very concerned with aesthetics, particularly architectural aesthetics, and it pays a lot of attention to the built landscape of post-war Britain - I would say this attention is informed somewhat by a visual arts approach.”

Oisín McKenna was born in Dublin and lives in London. He was awarded the Next Generation Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland to write Evenings and Weekends and it was developed with further funding from Arts Council England. Evenings and Weekends has been awarded a 2022 London Writers Award and in 2017, Oisín was named in the Irish Times as one of the best-spoken word artists in the country. He has written and performed four theatre shows, including ADMIN, an award-winning production at Dublin Fringe 2019, and has written for outlets including the Irish Times on issues such as gentrification and the alienation of Dublin’s youth.

Buy Oisin's new book now https://www.waterstones.com/book/evenings-and-weekends/ois-n-mckenna/9780008604172

Follow @Ois_McK91 & @4thEstateBooks

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