author
Seumas O'Brien
b. 1880
An Irish-born dramatist, fabulist, and sculptor, this early 20th-century writer moved easily between literature and visual art. His best-known books include The Whale and the Grasshopper and Duty, and Other Irish Comedies, works that reflect both storytelling wit and a feel for the stage.
2 Audiobooks
Duty, and Other Irish Comedies
by Seumas O'Brien
The Whale and the Grasshopper, and Other Fables
by Seumas O'Brien
About the author
Born in Cork, Ireland, in 1880, Seumas O'Brien built a varied creative life as a sculptor, painter, dramatist, and author. Before leaving Ireland, he taught art in Cork and Dublin, exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, and earned a silver medal from London's Board of Education.
In 1913 he emigrated to San Francisco, where he continued his artistic work. He is remembered in literary circles for books such as The Whale and the Grasshopper: And Other Fables and Duty, and Other Irish Comedies, which show his gift for short, imaginative storytelling as well as his interest in the theater.
Some later accounts also describe him as part of the wider Irish Literary Revival, though he is not as widely known today as some of his contemporaries. The picture that emerges is of a versatile artist who worked across forms and carried Irish cultural influences into a new life in the United States.