Detailed Information

Female Voices in Contemporary Irish Literature

While in the past the Irish literary canon comprised chiefly male authors, the contemporary literary scene appears more gender-balanced. On this course we shall first consider those female writers who already succeeded in asserting their art on a par with their male colleagues a few decades ago. The greater part of our time together will then be devoted to an exploration of some of the most intriguing female voices of the present time. We shall discuss the books that made them arrive – considering the possible thematic and other links with their male and female predecessors, while at the same time aiming to identify their new and unique qualities. Mary Lavin, Jennifer Johnston, Claire Keegan, Eimear McBride and Sara Baume will be among the many writers discussed. 

Dates Venue/Location Fee €
25 Jan 2018 to 22 Mar 2018 Belfield

160.00



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Belfield

8 Thursdays                        7.00-9.00pm

Jan 25, Feb 1, 8, 15, 22, March 1, 8, 15

Dr Jana van der Ziel Fischerova received her doctoral degree from UCD, where she wrote a comparative thesis on literary censorship in Ireland and Czechoslovakia. Her main research interests include twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and culture, the relationship between literature and society, and censorship. Jana is currently teaching Literature in English on the UCD Access to Arts and Human Sciences programme. She is also working on a volume of Kate O’Brien’s non-fiction, as a sole editor.

Kate O’Brien, The Ante-Room (1934)

Mary Lavin, selected short stories (1940s-1960s)

Edna O’Brien, selected short stories (1960s-1970s)

Jennifer Johnston, Shadows on Our Skin (1977)

Anne Enright, selected short stories (1990s to date)

Claire Keegan, selected short stories (1990s to date)

Eimear McBride, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing (2013)

Sara Baume, Spill Simmer Falter Wither (2015)

Sally Rooney, Conversations with Friends (2017)

  • Place of the female writer on the Irish literary scene, past and present
  • Thematic, stylistic and other links between contemporary women writers and their male and female predecessors
  • Is there anything that connects the successful female authors of the present time?