John B: The Real Keane

Smith and the late Hickey, coauthors of My Life with Brendan , offer a biography of one of Ireland's major playwrights. Although not well-known in this country ( The Field , starring Richard Harris, was adapted from his play of the same title), Keane has been a force in Irish theater since the late 1950s. Born in Listowel, County Kerry, in 1928, he wrote his first play, Sive , at age 31 in the backroom of a pub he still owns in Listowel. The play was rejected by the Abbey Theater, a slight that deeply wounded him. But Sive was to mark the beginning of a play-writing career during which he would pen another 18 plays, among them Many Young Men of Twenty , The Field and Big Maggie , plus numerous essays and novels . Not one to shy away from the controversial aspects of Irish life, Keane has been outspoken about emigration (he's against), divorce (he's pro), censorship (against), the mandatory teaching of the Irish-Gaelic language (against), and the Church and its effects on sexuality. The book looks at his domestic life with his wife Mary and their four children, his presidency of Irish PEN and his often volatile relationship with the Abbey Theater. Informative and revealing, this biography uncovers one of Ireland's hidden treasures for American readers. Photos. (Sept.)