Belfast — On Sunday, March 17, Left Bank Books will celebrate St. Patrick's Day by hosting fiction writer Peter Behrens, who will share from his deep well of Irish tales and sign his newest book “The O'Briens,” just published in paperback. His talk, the third in Left Bank's Winter Lyceum series, will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and is open to all free of charge. Seating, however, is limited; chairs can be reserved in advance.

This will be Behrens' second visit to the bookshop, the first being in 2006 when he signed “The Law of Dreams,” recipient of Canada's Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. He also published a collection of short stories called “Night Driving.” Honors he has received include a Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University's Creative Writing Program.

Behrens' newest book is epic in its scope as it follows one Irish-Canadian family through big moments in a modernizing North America. Joe O'Brien is a fiercely compelling character —  a backwoods boy, railroad magnate and a brooding soul — who exchanges the isolation and poverty of Canadian wilderness for a share in the dazzling possibilities of the 20th century. “The O'Briens” is a big book — Irish and Catholic and generational — that captures and haunts the reader, in the spirit of “Angela's Ashes” or “East of Eden.”

Those who are unable to attend but would like a signed copy of either “The O'Briens” or “The Law of Dreams” can reserve these by calling the shop at 338-9009. Left Bank Books is located downtown at 109 Church St. and is open daily. The next Lyceum event will be on Sunday, April 7, when Michael Erard, author of “Babel No More,” will talk about Amazing Polyglots: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners!

Courier Publications’ A&E Editor Dagney C. Ernest can be reached at (207) 594-4401, ext. 115 or dernest@courierpublicationsllc.com.