February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
What is your latest book about?
“Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster” is a history of the Irish-American gangster, beginning in the post-Famine years (1840s and 1850s) through to the disappearance of James “Whitey” Bulger, covering many regions of the U.S., including New York, Chicago, early New Orleans, Boston, Kansas City and Cleveland.
What is your writing routine? Are there ideal conditions?
I try to write at least six days a week, finishing a set number of words and pages each day — no more, no less. If I finish those pages quickly, I get to knock off early that day. The idea is to establish and maintain a steady pace.
I like to hear the sounds of the city while I write — loud sirens outside my window and people in the street cursing in different dialects.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
To write, write and then write some more.
Name three books that are memorable in terms of your reading pleasure?
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain, “The Poor Mouth” by Flan O’Brien, and “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac.
What book are you currently reading?
Gary Giddens’s “Pocketful of Dreams — the Early Years,” the first of a two-volume biography of Bing Crosby (he also was born in Tacoma).
Is there a book you wish you had written?
Maybe the Bible. There are a number of things I would change.
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Name a book that you were pleasantly surprised by?
“The Godfather Returns,” published in December 2004, which I was sure would be a pale imitation of the late-Mario Puzo. It was actually very credible and well written.
If you could meet one author, living or dead, who would it be?
James Joyce. I would like to know what was going on inside that brain of his.
What book changed your life?
“Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The book showed me that writing about crime is not just writing about individual acts, but writing about society as a whole.
What is your favorite spot in Ireland?
The beach in Buncrana, Co. Donegal. A walk at sunset there will leave an impression that lasts a lifetime.
You’re Irish if . . .
You feel it in your soul.
(T.J. English, author of “Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster,” will speak on Irish-American organized crime from the 19th century to the present, on Monday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the American Irish Historical Society, 991 Fifth Ave., NYC. Details, (212) 288-2263, ext. 31.)