Basil Payne was born in Dublin on June 23, 1923. Until 1971 he worked as a health insurance administator at senior management level, then in that year he become a full time writer and lecturer. He spent several years as a lecturer in English literature at colleges in the USA, including Rutgers University and the University of California. He lives in Dublin and has seven children.
In the 1960's, Basil Payne frequently wrote theatre reviews and second leaders (editorials) for The Irish Times. In 1964 and 1966 Basil Payne won the Guinness International poetry prize. In the early 1970's he was the film reviewer for RTE Radio.
As much at ease with the spoken word as with the written text, he was acclaimed for his live presentations, among others the solo presentation Be Free With Me, premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1984, and the solo recital Songs of Love, premiered at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, 1989.
Other books by Basil include: Sunlight on a Square, Love in the Afternoon, Another Kind of Optimism and Voyage a Deux.
These two books have languished in limbo for many years. They are Basil's final works, denser, convoluted and less accessible than earlier books. Basil's earlier books, audio recordings and samples of his work are available at www.basilpayne.net
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Print: $4.72 Honest, often painful prose. An Irish man and his family in the USA during the 1970s and 80s
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Print: $5.18
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