Author Biography
Philip O'Leary is Associate Professor in the Irish Studies program at Boston College. His book, Ideology and Innovation: The Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 1881-1921, was awarded the 1995 Donald Murphy Prize by the American Conference for Irish Studies, and nominated for the 1995 Irish Times prize for non-fiction. He is co-General Editor of the Cambridge History of Irish Literature
Description
A continuation of the author's previous path-breaking book on the prose literature of the Gaelic Revival. For the first time, the development of a modern literature in Irish following the War of Independence and Civil War is outlined and analysed. This period saw an outpouring of book-length works in Irish from the state publishing agency An Gum, and the frequency and production of new plays, both original and translated, have never been approached since. Philip O'Leary has investigated all of these works as well as journalism and manuscript material. This book fills a large gap and will raise scholarly awareness of a major neglected aspect of the Irish cultural renaissance. The many quotations from the works discussed have been translated into English by the author, with the original Irish versions provided in the notes. Short biographies of the leading figures are given in an appendix.
Preface
Introduction
- A world turned rightside up?
Maimed from the start
- Debates within the Gaelic literary movement in the new state
The real and better Ireland
- Rural life in Gaelic prose
Bringing Mohammed to the mountain
- New directions in Gaelic prose
Wellspring of nationality
- The Gaelic writer and the Irish past
'Rebuilding Tara in our mental world'
- The Gaelic author and the heroic tradition
Flawed, failed, forgotten? The question of translation
'The trail of the serpent'
- The Gaelic movement and Irish literature in English
At the cow's rump or in the national theatre? Issues in Gaelic drama
Taking stock, taking chances
Notes
Selected bibliography
Index
"charts the fascinating period of the cultural renaissance when An Gum went on an unprecedented publishing spree of works into Irish ... this substantial volume is exceptionally well got up with silk marker and head and tail bands, real cloth and a jacket you won't want to throw away."
Books Ireland Sept 2004
"[There are] a small select group of literary scholars who, though largely writing in English, have made a genuine contribution to the study of literature in Irish. The distinguishing marks of this group include not just their keen critical skills and ... their knowledge of Irish, but a deep understanding of the historical, political, and cultural contexts, and a respect for the tradition, as evidenced by their scrupulous use of primary sources. Declan Kiberd is one such scholar. Philip O'Leary is another."
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies 31 (1) 2005
"This important work contributes not only to the Irish history of the book and print culture but also to Irish political and cultural studies and to the study of general and world histories of print culture, particularly those involving bilingual and multilingual societies."
"This comprehensive history of Gaelic literature takes an unequalled position in this Gaelic Irish literary field of investigation: no extant work could compare with its scope and range of the literature and contexts."
Irish Studies Review 13 (4) 2005
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