David Marcus (writer)
{{short description|Irish writer}}
{{Other people||David Marcus (disambiguation){{!}}David Marcus}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
David Marcus (21 August 1924{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/12/obituary-david-marcus|title=David Marcus - Obituary|first=Richard|last=Pine|date=11 June 2009|website=the Guardian|access-date=19 June 2018|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614171739/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/12/obituary-david-marcus|url-status=live}} in County Cork{{spnd}}9 May 2009) was an Irish Jewish editor and writer who was a lifelong advocate for and editor of Irish fiction.
Life and times
Born in County Cork in 1924, Marcus was the much-loved editor{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/obituaries/2009/0516/1224246700946.html | work=The Irish Times | title=Editor and writer who dedicated his life to promoting Irish literature | date=2009-05-05 | access-date=20 February 2020 | archive-date=14 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014105214/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/obituaries/2009/0516/1224246700946.html | url-status=live}} of numerous anthologies of Irish fiction and poetry, including the Phoenix Irish Short Stories collections.
Other notable projects included the page New Irish Writing for the Irish Press, which provided a forum for aspiring Irish authors, publishing most of the most important names in Irish fiction, many for the first time, including Dermot Bolger, Ita Daly, Anne Enright, Neil Jordan, Claire Keegan, John McGahern, Michael Feeney Callan, Bernard MacLaverty, Eilis Ni Dhuibhne, Joseph O'Connor, Colm Tóibín, Colum McCann and William Wall. He was, in the words of Fintan O'Toole "the single most important literary editor in Ireland in the second half of the 20th century".Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/0516/1224246669128.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014105234/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/0516/1224246669128.html |date=14 October 2012 }}
His 1986 novel, A Land Not Theirs, a fictionalized account of the experiences of the Cork Jewish community during the Irish War of Independence was a bestseller. In 1986, his second novel, which drew on his experiences among the Cork Jewish community, A Land in Flames was also a popular success.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}
In 2001, Marcus published Oughtobiography – Leaves from the diary of a hyphenated Jew, an autobiographical review of his life as an Irish Jew and as an important figure in Irish literature.
On 3 June 2005, he was awarded an honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature by the National University of Ireland, University College, Cork.{{cite web |url=http://www.nui.ie/college/docs/citations/2005/uccHonCons05/marcus.pdf |title=Introductory address |date=3 June 2005 |website=/www.nui.ie |format=PDF |access-date=23 March 2018 |archive-date=17 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117043825/http://www.nui.ie/college/docs/citations/2005/uccHonCons05/marcus.pdf |url-status=live }}
Marcus was married to fellow Irish novelist Ita Daly and lived in Rathgar in Dublin. In 2016 she published a memoir of their life together, I'll Drop You a Line: A Life With David Marcus.
Bibliography
- {{cite book| last = Marcus| first = David| title = Phoenix Irish Short Stories 1998| year = 1998| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson| isbn = 1-86159-130-6 }}
- {{cite book| last = Marcus| first = David| title = Phoenix Irish Short Stories 2003| year = 2003| publisher = Weidenfeld and Nicolson| location = London| isbn = 0-7538-1717-9| page = 213 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.irishwriters-online.com/marcus-david/ Profile of Marcus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609161133/http://www.irishwriters-online.com/marcus-david/ |date=9 June 2012 }} at "Irish Writers Online"
- [http://article.wn.com/view/2008/02/09/Ode_to_an_honest_editor/?template=cheetah-article%2Fdisplayarticle.txt Irish P.E.N. Special Award citation of David Marcus]
- [http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0509/marcusd.html Obituary]
- [http://www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/Issues/17/Poetry/mcfadden_hugh.html "David's Farewell", tribute poem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918101144/http://www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/Issues/17/Poetry/mcfadden_hugh.html |date=18 September 2015 }}
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Category:20th-century Irish writers
Category:21st-century Irish writers
Category:Irish-language writers
Category:Irish people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Category:People associated with University College Cork
Category:Writers from County Cork
Category:The Irish Press people
Category:People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork