Draining out the Colours: an Interview with Patrick McCabe

Abstract

In this interview Patrick McCabe sheds some light on his sources of inspiration and creative process as he talks about the evolution of his hometown, the stage adaptation of The Butcher Boy, and some major influences, such as the Gothic tradition. The growing importance of the latter turns his fiction into something darker and more sinister; a realm in which humour is non-existent, and evil omnipresent.

Keywords

• Patrick McCabe
• Contemporary Irish literature
• Gothic
• Adaptation
• Religion
• Story-telling
• Social changes