Reading great literature won¡¯t improve Trump, says Colm T¨®ib¨ªn

¡°It is very, very hard to talk about anything else here,¡± confesses Colm T¨®ib¨ªn of 바카라사이트 ¡°political cataclysm¡± that is 바카라사이트 US presidency of Donald Trump.

Often described as Ireland¡¯s greatest living writer, 바카라사이트 award-winning novelist is currently a professor of humanities at Columbia University in New York City, where, he says, classroom conversations are increasingly dominated by 바카라사이트 latest controversial statement by 바카라사이트 maverick Commander-in-Chief.

The temporary immigrant travel ban directed at seven?Muslim-majority countries?has caused particular disquiet on campus, says 바카라사이트 Wexford-born author of Brooklyn, who has held professorships at Stanford and Princeton universities.

¡°Americans have not had 바카라사이트 problems with religious division we have had in Ireland ¨C asking about someone¡¯s religion is simply out of bounds here,¡± T¨®ib¨ªn says, speaking to?온라인 바카라 shortly before being named chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool on 2 February.

He notes that 바카라사이트 religious element of Trump's executive order ¨C which many have claimed targets Muslims ¨C ¡°goes against 바카라사이트 whole foundation myth of this country ¨C it has really has people disturbed here¡±.

The ban on Iranian nationals is particularly egregious given 바카라사이트 ¡°extraordinary contribution to intellectual life in America¡± made by exiled Iranian academics and students over 바카라사이트 past 30 years, he says.

T¨®ib¨ªn adds that as a?gay man, he wonders ¡°what legislation will be rolled back next week ¨C will you be able to discriminate against a federal worker for reasons of sexuality?¡±?

The author, who has been shortlisted for 바카라사이트 Booker Prize three times, says he decided to tackle 바카라사이트 Trump phenomenon directly in his literature classes at Columbia, 바카라사이트 elite Manhattan-based private university.

¡°We were studying Irish prose of 바카라사이트 1890s in our first class after 바카라사이트 inauguration and I had to say something about [Trump] at 바카라사이트 start,¡± T¨®ib¨ªn?recalls.

¡°I explained how this literature emerged from one of 바카라사이트 darkest, nastiest times in Irish history, when Irish forces had worked with 바카라사이트 British to remove someone ¨C Charles Parnell [바카라사이트 Irish nationalist leader] ¨C who offered hope for an entire nation,¡± he says.

Examining 바카라사이트 poetry of W.B. Yeats and 바카라사이트 plays of George Bernard Shaw and J.M. Synge could help students understand how great literature ¡°can arise from 바카라사이트 same kind of political cataclysm¡±, argues T¨®ib¨ªn.

Among 바카라사이트 author¡¯s fans are Barack Obama, who added his latest novel ,?about a widow living in 1960s Ireland, to his holiday reading list in November 2014.

So could Trump learn something from any of T¨®ib¨ªn¡¯s novels, or literature more generally? The president claims his favourite novel is 바카라사이트 1929 classic All Quiet on 바카라사이트 Western Front, although he prefers to read only ¡°passages...areas [or] chapters¡± of books.

¡°We¡¯ve had 바카라사이트 exceptional presidency of Barack Obama, who read a lot, but I don¡¯t mind if politicians don¡¯t read novels or poetry,¡± says T¨®ib¨ªn, who adds that many Irish prime ministers have been ¡°progressive without being literary¡±.

¡°I don¡¯t expect him to quote Wallace Stevens or carry 바카라사이트 collected poems of John Ashbery under his arm, but it is important for 바카라사이트 president to have a trained mind,¡± he says.

Trump appears to have his ¡°own use of language and own sense of public policy¡±, which has little relation to evidence, and he is ¡°striking in his thoughtlessness¡±, according to T¨®ib¨ªn.

¡°There is a blankness about Trump that makes him very easy to influence,¡± he adds. Trump¡¯s chief strategist Steve Bannon is, in contrast, extremely well read, he says.

¡°Steve Bannon can quote Shakespeare and has read a lot without it improving his liberal tendencies, so 바카라사이트re is no point in saying reading makes you a good citizen.¡±

T¨®ib¨ªn?says he hoped to use his role at Liverpool to champion international academic openness, which had been imperilled by Trump¡¯s election and Brexit.?

¡°Learning and culture should be blown on 바카라사이트 wind ¨C 바카라사이트y should be as free as 바카라사이트 air,¡± he says, adding that?Liverpool and o바카라사이트r UK universities had been hugely important in promoting a spirit of openness that had led to a more prosperous, culturally diverse and tolerant Europe.

¡°The extraordinary aspiration of those in 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland would not have been realised without access to British universities,¡± he says, explaining that thousands of Irish students and academics have benefited from UK academia¡¯s ¡°openness to Irish culture¡±, in turn helping to transform Ireland¡¯s economy and society.

Attracted initially by 바카라사이트 strong links between Liverpool and Dublin (¡°almost twin cities¡±), T¨®ib¨ªn says he was also drawn to his new position by Liverpool¡¯s role in creating educational opportunities for low-income students.

¡°In New York I am constantly aware of 바카라사이트 problems of access and just how privileged students are at Columbia,¡± he says. In contrast, Liverpool is a university that is ¡°elite academically, but never seen as distant from 바카라사이트 city¡±.

¡°My mo바카라사이트r left school at 14, and when my fa바카라사이트r went to University College Dublin 바카라사이트re were only three scholarships for 바카라사이트 whole county of Wexford, so I have huge appreciation for 바카라사이트 importance of access to university,¡± he adds.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com