Sarah Kanowski

Absolutely.

It's been a really interesting conversation, Lucinda.

Thank you so much for being my guest on Conversations.

Thank you very much, Sarah.

This conversation with Lucinda Holdforth was recorded on the lands of the Tarrabul and Yagra peoples.

It was produced by Meggie Morris.

Our executive producer is Eliza Kirsch.

I'm Sarah Konoski.

Thanks for listening.

It could be that had a circus come to Colm Tobin's little town in Ireland when he was growing up, he might have run away with them.

And perhaps I wouldn't be speaking with a world-renowned writer today, but a ringmaster or lion tamer.

Colm has always been open to where life might take him.

He's found excitement in that kind of freedom.

And from the sitting rooms of Enniscorthy to the pubs of Dublin, from the wild parties of post-Franco Barcelona to the suburban streets of LA, wherever Colm goes, he keeps a running list of tiny details.

Observations of seemingly mundane encounters, an offhand comment, or the cut of a lady's outfit on a train.

And these details sink down into his subconscious, waiting and ripening until one day they bubble up.

Colm sits down at his desk and another novel is born.

His most recent book is a sequel to the highly acclaimed and much-loved Brooklyn.

It's called Long Island.

Hi, Colm.