A North Light: Twenty-Five Years in a Municipal Art Gallery

Published here for the first time, John Hewitt’s autobiography charts his life in Northern Ireland from his early years until his ‘enforced exile’ in Coventry in 1957. It details his career in the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, his maverick political views on his homeland, the evolution of his critical and literary thinking, and his quest for identity and creative space. The book provides a fascinating glimpse into Hewitt’s association with key literary characters, including W.B. Yeats, George Orwell, and Brendan Behan. This hitherto-unpublished text - one of the most anticipated Irish memoirs of the 20th century - will be invaluable to those interested in Hewitt’s achievement, work, and legacy, and to those wishing to gain an insight into Northern Ireland’s cultural and political history.