Michael Hogan is the author of eighteen books, including a collection of short stories, six books of poetry, collected essays on teaching in Latin America, a novel, and a history of the Irish battalion in Mexico which formed the basis for an MGM movie starring Tom Berenger. His work has appeared in many journals such as the Paris Review, the Harvard Review, Z-Magazine, Political Affairs and the Monthly Review. He is the Latin American consultant to the Office of Overseas Schools. Dr. Hogan received his B.A. and MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from the University of Guadalajara and the Institute of Advanced Studies.
Dr. Hogan has worked as an AP teacher for fourteen years in American schools abroad, and as a consultant to the College Board AP program in Latin America since 1997. He has given workshops and presentations at over sixty conferences in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. In addition to his work in Latin America for the past two decades, Dr. Hogan is a former consultant on institutional programs for the National Endowment for the Arts, a consultant for the Irish Embassy in Mexico, and on the land mine removal initiative in Nicaragua. His many awards include the Ben Franklin Award 2000, an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship, the Grace Stoddard Literary Fellowship, the gold medal of the Sociedad de Geografia y Estadisticas, and a citation for meritorious service from the Office of Overseas Schools, U.S. Department of State.
Visit his website at http://www.drmichaelhogan.com
To purchase the book, visit Amazon.
Thanks for this interview! Please tell us about your book.
The Irish Soldiers of Mexico is the history of the Irishmen who immigrated to the New World during the Great Famine in the 1840’s. Unable to find employment, many enlisted in the army. When they discovered that the army was prepared to invade Mexico, a Catholic country like their own, they deserted and joined the Mexican forces. There they formed the St. Patrick’s Battalion (los San Patricios) and fought bravely and well for their adopted country. At the end of the war, the survivors of the battalion were captured by the American Army and hanged. It was the largest mass execution in the history of North America. For decades the U.S. government denied that this battalion ever existed or that any Irishmen were ever hanged in Mexico. It was a shameful episode in U.S. history and even today is barely acknowledged.
The invasion of Mexico in 1846 and the subsequent war and conquest was unconstitutional ,according to Abraham Lincoln, a Congressman at the time. The hanging of the San Patricios was also illegal. Deserters are shot, only spies in civilian clothes are hanged. The war resulted in the acquisition of New Mexico, most of Arizona, lower Texas, all of California, Nevada, parts of Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming. It was the largest acquisition of land in the history of North America.
What is the background for the book?
The book took me six years to research and write. I translated over 4,000 pages of Mexican archives and visited every battle site. The book was first published in 1997 by a Mexican university and received outstanding reviews. It sold out four editions in English and three in Spanish. Two documentaries were based on the book and one full-length movie starring Tom Berenger. Then it went out of print after 9/11 because the Amazon would not accept foreign published books unless sold through a U.S. distributor. The profit margin was too low to be worthwhile.
This revised 2011 edition which was completed in 2010 includes new historical material such as the location of what purported to be a death certificate for John Riley, the leader of the San Patricios located in a church in Veracruz. This edition also includes updated “After the War” and “Commemorations” sections. Many positive changes in public perception of the San Patricios have taken place since the first publication of this book in 1997. In addition, there have been a number of new vehicles for dissemination of the history, not the least of which was the production of “One Man’s Hero,” starring Tom Berenger, three novels on the San Patricios, a new sculpture in Mexico City of John Riley donated by the people of Ireland, and the Chieftains new CD with songs commemorating the Irish battalion. There are maps, a bibliography of American, Irish and Mexico sources of over 400 documents and books.
I was inspired to research and write this history because one of my ancestors, Roger Hogan, was a San Patricios who was hanged in San Angel, Mexico. I am a permanent resident of Mexico and live in Guadalajara. My love of the country and also the truth of history was another motivation. I have worked as a teacher both in high schools and at universities in Latin America for over twenty-five years. More recently, I have concentrated exclusively on my writing and only teach only an occasional class.
What is your next project?
My recently-completed novel is A DEATH IN NEWPORT. It is an international thriller about a Bolivian professor and friend of Noam Chomsky who is murdered in the U.S. while attending a globalization conference. The investigation into his death reveals the far reaching tentacles of agro-businesses and global exploiters which are destroying lives and livelihoods in Latin America and are ruthless in eliminating those who get in their way. It is based on a true story which I researched while working as a consultant in Bolivia. In September I will be doing a virtual book tour for the novel.
Do you have a website where readers may learn more about the book?
Home page: http://www.drmichael.hogan.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IrishMex
What are you doing to promote and market the book?
Most new authors think that once they are published they can just sit back and collect the royalties. It simply doesn’t work that way. I live overseas so it is fairly hard to arrange U.S. readings, book signings and other events that sell books. That is why reviews, guest blogs, and virtual book tours are so important. I do give teacher conferences in several countries in Latin America which provide some sales—a few of my books are in Spanish; I also write many articles both for traditional magazines and for on-line zines and these help Amazon sales. I also am very active on-line with Facebook, and have my own business Facebook page for the Irish in Mexico and another for Teaching Overseas where I am able to provide visitors with practical information, entertainment, music, videos and museum tours in Mexico in addition to promoting my books. I also belong to several professional organizations such a Poet and Writers, The Organization of American Historians, The Sociedad deGeografía yEstadísticas, Irish Artists and Musicians, and a number of Linked-In sites where I can both share ideas and strategies as well as promote my work. I don’t have my own blog because it is very time-consuming and I want to spend the bulk of my time writing new work. But I do have a homepage for all my books, am in the process of setting up an on-line book store of my 18 books, and will eventually link that to a blog which will really be a place where work-in-progress can be shared—like Facebook Notes. I also have guest blogged and done interviews that have ended up on Youtube. I think that social networking sites are becoming more and more important for getting new readers for one’s work. When I checked my Irish Soldiers visitors report from Facebook this month, I noticed that I had 350 visits last month from 17 different countries. That is a market I never would have been able to reach with traditional methods.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with my readers?
When I began this project I thought it would take a couple of years. It ended up taking six years. But there were a number of positive consequences which I could have never foreseen which came as a result of this extra work. I discovered hidden caches of guns from 1846 buried in the basement of an old convent outside of Mexico City. I was able to maximize my understanding of Spanish by translating over 4,000 pages of documents from the National Archives. I was able to complete a PhD in Latin American history at the University of Guadalajara. I was able to meet and work with Tom Berenger the actor and James Eduard Olmos. I received the gold medal of the National Geographic Society and also was nominated for the Águila Azteca by the Mexican Ambassador to Ireland. I met with two presidents of Mexico and also with the Irish President at the premier of the movie. So, I guess my message is, if you are interested in something, follow your passion, keep at it even when the work seems never-ending. You will always get much more than just a book from your work. But you will also get the book if you keep at it till the end.
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