J.P. Donleavy - Interviews 1950

"No author can be a snob - he'd be out of business."

J.P. Donleavy from an interview, Publishers Weekly, Oct. 31, 1986

JPD at Levington Park during an interview by Thomas E. Kennedy. Photo by Mr. Kennedy.

Included here are interviews which have appeared online, in print, on video and audio cassette, been aired on television, and broadcasted on radio. Titles in dark blue indicate entire text available to read here on this site. This is by no means a complete list, and it will be added to as more information is obtained.

"Traveler, Consider My Dublin...Talk your way out of it"

Esquire, April, 1967

Listed as a travel piece by Donleavy (as told to Richard Joseph). Not sure at this point if it's an interview or a transcription of a narrative.

"Interview With J.P. Donleavy"

The Listener, March 16, 1969.

"Segment on Irish Income Tax Exemptions for Professionals in the Arts"

JPD one of those interviewed. Air date? Circa late '60s - early '70s. Details being researched.

To purchase books by J.P. Donleavy, go to the Buyers' Guide.

"Talking With JP Donleavy"

zigzag, #28, Feb., 1973

Contains 3-page Donleavy interview.

Read the interview.

"The Art of Fiction LIII - J. P. Donleavy"

The Paris Review, #63, 1975

The author interviewed by Molly McKaughan, assisted by Fayette Hickox. A very well-done piece in which Donleavy explains much of the circumstances surrounding the writing and publishing of his early works.

Read the Interview. (PDF format)

"JP Donleavy "

Club, September, 1975

Contains an interview with JPD.

"JP Donleavy "

Men Only, Circa 1970s, Volume 40 No. 10

Contains interview with JPD.

"A return to the auld asphalt"

New York Daily News, January 18, 1976

Contains a JPD interview/article by Judson Hand

"JP Donleavy: The Gingerly Man"

Celebrity, Volume 2, No. 5, May 1976

Article with interview quotes by Sherry Romeo,

Read the article/interview.

"Auberon Waugh Goes to Visit JP Donleavy - A Singular Man"
(Special thanks to John Baxter for providing the clipping of this article/interview)

The Times, (London) Saturday Review section, July 24, 1976. An extremely well-penned piece by renowned journalist/author Auberon Waugh (son of Evelyn Waugh).

Read the article/interview.

"Interview with J.P. Donleavy"

Journal of Irish Literature 8, Jan. 1978 - by K. Jacobsen.

"Title?"

Bailey & Litchfield's RITZ Newspaper, No. 17 1978

Article on Donleavy with interview quotes.

"J.P. Donleavy Talks About Living in Ireland"

The Listener, March 16, 1978

Donleavy interview.

"JP Donleavy Discusses Olympia Press"

Publishers Weekly, April 30, 1979

JPD in conversation with Stella Dong.

Read the article/interview.

"JP Donleavy"

Audio cassette | Tapes for Readers, Washington, D.C., 1980

An interview on audio cassette conducted by Stephen Banker. For details see JPD Audio. Email Stephen Banker to purchase.

"JP Donleavy Interviewed"

Radio interview with JPD. A.B.C., Sydney, 1980. Was issued on cassette tape. Very scarce.

"J.P. Donleavy Reads from Are You Listening Rabbi Löw and Talks About Critics and Writing for Amusement"

Radio reading by JPD and interview by Tom Vitale, A Moveable Feast. Date? Was once available on cassette but now is very scarce.

"Writer in his Haven"

Publishers Weekly Jan. 23, 1981

Article by R.H. Brown with JPD quotes.

"J.P. Donleavy "

Penthouse, UK Feb., 1982

Interview with Donleavy.

"PW Interviews: JP Donleavy"

Publishers Weekly October 24, 1986

Researching details.

"Interview With JP Donleavy"

Publishers Weekly October 31, 1986

Interview by Amanda Smith.

Read the interview.

"Writers Talk: Ideas of Our Times - JP Donleavy" with Frank Delaney.

The Roland Collection of Films and Videos on Art. 45 minutes. Color. Available in a variety of international formats including VHS-NTSC and PAL. Shot in 1987.

Interview on video cassette. JP Donleavy appears in a segment of a series of "Guardian Interviews" in candid conversation with Frank Delaney.
For more details, see JPD Video.

"The Bawdy Electric - JP Donleavy Keeps It Up"
(Special thanks to Sally Eckhoff for providing her excellent article/interview)

Voice Literary Supplement, October 1988. Sally Eckhoff covers a lot of ground in this great piece.

Read the article/interview.

"Audio Interview with J.P. Donleavy"

A 47-minute radio interview with JPD by Don Swaim, recorded in 1988.

The interview is downloadable at the Wired for Books site. (Real Audio format)

Writers Talk to Ralph D. Gardner
by Ralph D. Gardner, Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989, Cloth, 355 pages, ISBN 0810821435

Collection of interviews with authors covering a period from 1974 to 1986, transcribed from Mr. Gardner's radio show. Writers other than JPD include: Isaac Asimov, Allen Ginsberg, Kurt Vonnegut and Harlan Ellison.

"J.P. Donleavy Artist and Author"

CV Journal of Art and Crafts, Issue 2/2, May, 1989, (transcribed from a recorded interview with J.P. Donleavy on the occasion of his exhibition at Anna-Mei Chadwick Gallery, Chelsea February, 1989

JPD interviewed by Nick James.

For further information, visit the CV publication website. Special thanks to Nick James for contributing this fine interview.

"That singular saucy sagacity"

The Weekend Australian, March 17-18, 1990

A fine piece by journalist Murray Waldren, which came out at the time of the Australian publication of A Singular Country.

Read the interview.

"A Singular Day with J.P. Donleavy"

USA Today, July 17, 1990

Excellent interview/article by William Dunn.

Read the interview/article.

"The Wild Irish Rogue"

GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly), June, 1991

Article by A. Clancy with JPD quotes.

"Tea & Scones & Darcy Dancer: The Making of An Irish Gentleman: An Interview with JP Donleavy"

The Bloomsbury Review, Jan/Feb, 1992

Interview with Donleavy by E. Thomas Wood, Many thanks to Mr. Wood for allowing this well-conducted and informative interview to appear in full on this site.

Read the interview.

"Only for the Moment Am I Saying Nothing: An Interview with JP Donleavy"

Vengeance! - a Passport Anthology #6, England - ISBN 1897779054, 1993

First publication of an interview conducted by author/editor Thomas E. Kennedy (See Literary Review entry below for extended version). (Special thanks to Mr. Kennedy for info on both versions).

Read the extended version.

Click image for larger view of JPD at Levington Park, taken by Thomas E. Kennedy at the time of his interview. Again, thanks to Mr. Kennedy for the information and photos.

"Spice of Life"

The Sunday Times, Cinema section, August 15, 1993

Article/Interview by John Burns dealing mostly with a film project of The Ginger Man . (Special thanks to Gareth Griffiths for sending this clipping)

"JP Donleavy: Captivated by Ginger: A Non-Interview"

From Riding the Yellow Trolley Car by William Kennedy, Viking (an imprint of The Penguin-Putnam Group, New York), 1993

William Kennedy's piece on Donleavy is a very favorable recounting of a reading/lecture given by Donleavy during the height of JPD's fame. As it contains many quotes, I've included it in this index.

"Revisiting JP Donleavy's Classic: Behind the Scenes with the Ginger Man"

Newsday, March 17, 1994

JPD article/interview by Paul D. Colford.

Read the article/interview.

"The Road From Smut to Classic: JP Donleavy Returns With a Ginger Man Guidebook"

ARTS, The Irish Voice, March 29, 1994

JPD article/interview by Colin Lacey.

Read the article/interview.

"An Author and a Gumshoe"

Newsday, April 17, 1994

JPD article by Dennis Duggan telling of Donleavy's friendship with noted New York detective, Lt. Richard Gallagher.

Read the article/interview.

"At His Irish Georgian Mansion, JP Donleavy - 'Ginger Man' Tells Why He Is Compulsively Reclusive"

Hello, Aug. 1994

JPD article/interview with many quotes and a great photo spread.

"Catching Up With the Ginger Man - An Interview With J. P. Donleavy"

The Pannus Index, Vol. 1, No.3 Spring, 1997

JPD interviewed by Gineen Cooper. (Special thanks to editor, Vincent Bator, for his kind permission to add the complete text to this site).

Read the interview.

"Only for the Moment Am I Saying Nothing: An Interview with JP Donleavy"

The Literary Review Vol. 40 No. 4, 1997

The author interviewed by writer Thomas E. Kennedy. Extended version of the Kennedy/Donleavy interview first appearing in Vengeance - A Passport Anthology #6, England, 1993.

Read the interview.

"Travel: Rites of Passage - JP Donleavy"

The Daily Telegraph 08-23-1997

A brief, travel-related interview with JPD by Tom Chesshyre.

Read the interview.

Talking Dirty

Spectre / Hodder Headline, Australia & New Zealand, 1997. ISBN 0733605567

by Susan Chenery. A collection interviews and encounters with a vast range of authors and celebrities, including Donleavy. Among the others: Hunter S. Thompson, Traci Lords, Janet Leigh, Tom Robbins, Salman Rushdie, Bryan Ferry, and many more.

"The Church operated like a giant octopus. Me and My God. J.P. Donleavy Talks to Frances Welch"

Etcetera, Opinions Electronic Telegraph, Issue 1051, Saturday, April 11, 1998. Frances Welch interviews JPD at Levington Park.

Read the interview.

"JP Donleavy: An American in Exile"

Antioch Review Vol. 57, No. 2, Spring 1999

Donleavy interviewed by Andrew Graham-Yooll, who didn't do his homework well, even stating that the JP stands for John Patrick (it's, of course, James Patrick). Most of the information covered has been handled better by others, but it's always good to see Donleavy getting coverage in print.

"The Man Who Loved Women"

Irish Independent, Aug. 1, 1999

Article/interview by Patricia Deevy.

Read the interview.

Dining Out With Mr. Lunch

Wraps, University of Queensland Press, Dec. 1999. ISBN 0702231258

Murray Waldren's entertaining and well-conducted collection of interviews with authors, including Donleavy. Others interviewed include P.D. James, Brian Keenan, Fay Weldon, Kinky Friedman, Morris West, Antonella Gambotto and many more. This book is available at Amazon.com

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