Colm Toibin on Grief | Fashion Neurosis

About this video

Colm Tóibín is an Irish writer. Born in Enniscorthy, he is the author of eleven novels, including The Master, Brooklyn and The Magician, and two collections of stories. His novel Brooklyn was an immediate bestseller on publication and was adapted into an Oscar- nominated film starring Saoirse Ronan in 2015. His most recent novel Long Island is a sequel to Brooklyn. In his new short story collection The News from Dublin, these luminous short stories delve into the days and nights of those living far from home: lives of great longing, at a great distance from past lives and past selves. Colm Toíbín has been three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2021, he was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature. He was appointed the Laureate for Irish Fiction 2022-2024, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2025. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Colm Toibin discuss string underpants, playing tennis with Pedro Almodovar, and Irish trauma. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:20 What are you wearing today? 00:05:50 Writing 00:08:00 Style 00:10:56 Childhood obsessions 00:12:40 Colm’s parents 00:14:05 Youth 00:15:49 Childhood abandonment 00:22:04 Inventing fashion stories 00:24:38 Describing appearance in books 00:26:06 Ireland and women’s style 00:29:10 Brothers 00:31:13 Therapy and grief 00:35:23 Irish trauma 00:38:00 Gay culture 00:40:00 Tennis with Pedro Almodovar and Men’s Style 00:47:52 Glamour 00:52:20 If you fancy someone… 00:56:52 Coffee and Coca Cola 00:58:30 Making beds 01:00:03 Book Awards 01:05:55 Colm’s cancer 01:08:10 Writing about clothes 01:12:20 Outro