Can you separate a work of literature from the political beliefs of the author?

The question relates to three of our most notable Irish authors – Flann O’Brien, William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw. You know what I mean; you love a work to death, guard the dog-eared, smudged copy with your life, and then learn that the author held some pretty unsettling views. You are conflicted. Should you throw out the work with the author, or should you learn to compartmentalise.

Produced and presented by Bernie Dwan.