Glucksman Ireland House at New York University will host author Thomas Flynn for a reading of his epic poem, Bikeman, on Thursday, September 8 at 7 p.m. As part of the program, Glucksman Ireland House will play excerpts from its new podcast, That Forever September Morning: Memories of 9/11.

NYU’s Glucksman Ireland House Hosts Tom Flynn for Reading 9/11-Inspired “Bikeman”—Sept. 8
Glucksman Ireland House at New York University will host author Thomas Flynn for a reading of his epic poem, Bikeman, on Thursday, September 8 at 7 p.m. (One Washington Mews at 5th Avenue). As part of the program, Glucksman Ireland House (GIH) will play excerpts from its new podcast, That Forever September Morning: Memories of 9/11, which features passages from Flynn’s poem as well as interviews collected as part of the GIH Oral History Project.

Glucksman Ireland House at New York University will host author Thomas Flynn for a reading of his epic poem, Bikeman, on Thursday, September 8 at 7 p.m. (One Washington Mews at 5th Avenue). As part of the program, Glucksman Ireland House (GIH) will play excerpts from its new podcast, That Forever September Morning: Memories of 9/11, which features passages from Flynn’s poem as well as interviews collected as part of the GIH Oral History Project. 

The event is free and open to the public. An RSVP is required by calling 212.998.3950 or e-mailing ireland.house@nyu.edu. Subway Lines: N, R (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place).

Bikeman recalls Flynn’s experience on the morning of September 11, 2001, when he jumped on his bicycle minutes after the initial attack on the World Trade Center and rode downtown to cover the disaster. At the time he was a producer for Dan Rather at CBS. Echoing the style of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Bikeman is written in 38 cantos, creating a narrative that brings to life Flynn’s journey to the towers and his eyewitness account and reaction to the tragedies of that morning. First published in 2008, Flynn will share how he came to write the poem and reflect on its significance. NYU Irish and Irish-American Studies Professor Linda Dowling Almeida will moderate the evening and encourage audience response.

Among the 16 voices heard on That Forever September Morning: Memories of 9/11 are Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, former firefighter Vince Dunn, journalist Mary Murphy and her journalist/producer brother Jim Murphy, and author Alice McDermott. The memories represent the many emotions experienced on that day in New York, Washington, DC, and Ireland, and for some, recall the terrorist events that rocked Ireland in decades past.

The 38-minute podcast evolved as the directors of the project recognized how often memories of 9/11 surfaced in the interviews they recorded. These interviews, which are deposited in the Archives of Irish America at NYU, are typically life histories conducted with individuals who are active members in or who have some connection to the Irish immigrant and ethnic community in New York City and the metropolitan area. That Forever September Morning: Memories of 9/11 can be found on the Glucksman Ireland House NYU’s home page and the New York University iTunes page.

About Glucksman Ireland House:

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, Glucksman Ireland House is New York University’s Center for Irish and Irish-American Studies and one of the top-ranked academic Irish Studies programs in the United States. It provides access to the best in Irish and Irish-American culture through innovative undergraduate and graduate academic curricula and extensive public programming. With faculty in Irish and Irish-American literature, history, music, language, and cultural studies, Glucksman Ireland House NYU provides its students and the community with an integrated approach to understanding the dynamic arts and humanities that represent Ireland and Irish-America’s past, present, and future. Learn more about Glucksman Ireland House at http://irelandhouse.fas.nyu.edu.

Press Contact

James Devitt
James Devitt
(212) 998-6808