‘I’ve Learned First-Hand How Evil Is Tolerated’: Colm Tóibín on Living in the US Under Trump

Why It Matters

The essay shows how political shifts directly affect undocumented lives and how literature can illuminate those human costs, influencing public perception of immigration policy.

Key Takeaways

• Tóibín links fiction to real immigrant anxieties.
• Trump era heightened fear for undocumented Irish in US.
• Real case mirrors plot of "Five Bridges".
• Author emphasizes memory as narrative seed.
• Storytelling can expose tolerated societal evil.

Pulse Analysis

Colm Tóibín’s latest essay offers a masterclass in turning a single, vivid observation into a fully‑fledged narrative. He describes how a brief encounter on a San Francisco hike in 2008 planted the seed for a character—a illegal Irish plumber—who later became the protagonist of his story “Five Bridges.” By tracing the evolution from a notebook sketch to a completed manuscript, Tóibín highlights the writer’s reliance on memory, place, and the unpredictable “germ” that Henry James described as the catalyst for imagination. This process underscores how personal experience can be transmuted into universal themes without sacrificing specificity.

The political backdrop of Donald Trump’s second term adds urgency to Tóibín’s reflections. The author notes that the imagined departure of his character on Trump’s inauguration mirrors the real‑world detention of Seamus Culleton, an Irish immigrant arrested by ICE and held in conditions he likened to a concentration camp. This convergence of fiction and fact illustrates how policy shifts can transform literary speculation into lived tragedy, reinforcing the role of writers as chroniclers of societal tension. By spotlighting Culleton’s story, Tóibín demonstrates that narrative can serve as a conduit for empathy, bringing hidden hardships into public discourse.

Beyond the immediate political commentary, Tóibín’s piece argues for the broader responsibility of storytellers to confront tolerated evil. He suggests that the most powerful moments often arise from what is left unsaid, allowing readers to fill the gaps with their own moral reckoning. This technique, combined with meticulous detail drawn from personal memory—whether a Barcelona bar or a dormitory in Wexford—creates a layered realism that resonates across cultures. As immigration debates continue to evolve, Tóibín’s work reminds creators and audiences alike that literature not only reflects reality but can also shape the ethical framework through which societies judge themselves.