English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present: Biographies

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Brendan Behan

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Brendan Behan , 1923–64, Irish dramatist. A notoriously outspoken and uninhibited man, he joined the Irish Republican Army in 1937 and was twice imprisoned for political offenses. His first play, The Quare Fellow (1956), a grimly comic drama set in the hours preceding a prison hanging, was followed by The Hostage (1958), a song and dance farce set in a brothel. Brendan Behan's Island: an Irish Sketch-Book (1962) is a miscellaneous collection.

Bibliography: See his autobiographical Borstal Boy (1958); biographies by his brother Dominic Behan (1966) and U. O'Connor (1971).

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Behan, Brendan

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Behan, Brendan (1923–64), Irish playwright, was arrested in 1939 for his involvement with the IRA, and his subsequent period of Borstal training is described in his autobiographical Borstal Boy (1958). His best-known works are The Hostage (1958), a tragi-comedy about an English soldier held hostage in a Dublin brothel, and The Quare Fellow (1956), set in an Irish prison on the eve of a hanging.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Behan, Brendan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Behan, Brendan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BehanBrendan.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Behan, Brendan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BehanBrendan.html

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Behan, Brendan

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Behan, Brendan (1923–64) Irish writer, notorious for his riotous lifestyle. Behan became a member of the IRA at the age of 14 and served several years in reform school, as described in his autobiography Borstal Boy (1958). His first play, The Quare Fellow, was produced in 1954. Influenced by the work of Brecht, his second play was The Hostage (1959).

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"Behan, Brendan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Behan, Brendan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BehanBrendan.html

"Behan, Brendan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BehanBrendan.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	HE'S BEHAN HERE!; Legend Brendan was a People writer.(News) Newspaper article from: The People (London, England); 1/13/2002
	Brendan Behan: Cultural Nationalism and the Revisionist Writer. (Book... Magazine article from: Irish University Review: a journal of Irish Studies; 3/22/2003
	Wild, Irish and lovin' it Dublin native Shay Duffin squeezes in all the wit,... Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 3/13/1998