Irish Women Writers Speak Out

by Moloney, Caitriona; Thompson, Helen

• ISBN13: 9780815629719
• ISBN10: 0815629710
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr

Summary

Brings together in one volume the diverse and marvelously articulate voices of seventeen Irish women writers from a variety of backgrounds and geographic locations. Caitriona Moloney and Helen Thompson's interviews examine the complicated maps of experience that these women's public, private, and literary lives represent, particularly as they engage with both feminism and postcolonialism. Acknowledging Mary Robinson's revised view of Irish identity as global rather than insular, this work recognizes the importance of identity as a site of mobility. The interviews reveal how complex the terms "feminism" and "postcolonialism" are; they examine how the individual writers see their identities constructed and/or mediated by sexuality. Between the interviews, the authors trace common themes of female agency, violence, generational conflicts, migration, emigration, religion, and politics to name a few. The collection testifies to the lively and diverse nature of contemporary Irish women's literature, and it explodes myths about Irish women and Irishness in general.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	vii
Foreword	ix
Ann Owens Weekes
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
PART ONE Local Irish Identities
Introduction to Part One	3	(14)
Evelyn Conlon	17	(13)
Catherine Dunne	30	(12)
Miriam Dunne	42	(9)
Anne Enright	51	(14)
Jennifer Johnston	65	(10)
Liz McManus	75	(10)
Clair Ni Aonghusa	85	(16)
Eilis Ni Dhuibhne	101	(15)
Mary O'Donnell	116	(31)
PART TWO Mobile Irish Identities
Introduction to Part Two	133	(14)
Ivy Bannister	147	(9)
Catherine Brady	156	(13)
Emma Donoghue	169	(12)
Lia Mills	181	(8)
Valerie Miner	189	(8)
Edna O'Brien	197	(9)
Kate O'Riordan	206	(13)
Maura Stanton	219	(14)
Selected Bibliography	233	(38)
Index	271