Irish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939

by Stephen Regan (Editor)

This anthology traces the history of modern Irish literature from the revolutionary era of the late eighteenth century to the early years of political independence. It covers 150 years, from the writings of Charlotte Brooke and Edmund Burke to those of Elizabeth Bowen and Louis MacNeice, and
it shows how these writings continually challenge and renew the ways in which Ireland is imagined and defined. The anthology includes a wide-ranging and generous selection of fiction, poetry, and drama. Three plays by W.B. Yeats, Augusta Gregory, and J.M. Synge are printed in their entirety, along
with the opening episode of James Joyce's Ulysses .
The volume also includes letters, speeches, songs, memoirs, essays, and travel writings, many of which are difficult to obtain elsewhere.

Genres: Irish Literature, Ireland, School

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[A. Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another excellent resource, almost five hundred pages of assorted genres and not simply a rehash of what I have in other anthologies--a big bonus. I got the book as a promo copy when I taught Irish lit, but I had already chosen my texts and never had the chance to read it through until now. The inclusion of speeches and memoirs makes the book a fuller representation than often found in literary collections. Thankfully, the editor knows that "literary" suggests lasting value. There's also plenty of poetry, fiction, and drama here. The selections include Riders to the Sea and The Rising of the Moon, both important plays, an excerpt from John O'Leary's Recollections of Fenians (the O'Leary of whom Yeats speaks when he says "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone / It's with O'Leary in the grave), poems by and about Thomas Davis and Thomas MacDonagh. The end notes and biographical sketches are very informative, and the introduction in my copy has plenty of underlining now. Thanks to Regan, I know that Yeats was quoting Sheridan Le Fanu when he wrote "a terrible beauty." In Irish writing, everything is always connected to everything else. Seamus Heaney wrote that the English language was "no longer an imperial humiliation but a native weapon." I'm glad I have this book on my shelves.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit it's a bit weird to read an anthology for fun, but I'm going to be tackling Ulysses very soon, and I thought a reminder of what makes Irish Literature great beyond James Joyce would be a nice preparation (in conjunction with reading the Odyssey). As anthologies go, Irish Writing An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939 is worth picking up.

Editor Stephen Regan makes mostly wise choices, generously incorporating texts that deal with folklore, superstition, mythology, culture, and politics.

There are, thankfully, no leprechauns here, but plenty of banshees, a couple of ghosts, wights and wraiths, and a healthy smattering of vampires (Bram Stoker is Irish, after all). Indeed, Irish superstition and mythology are very well represented here. There are speeches from the dock, nationalist poems, propaganda plays, cultural essays, translations from the Irish, reflections on Civil War, and feminist declarations. There is plenty of fun too.

The usual suspects are well represented -- Lady Gregory, Yeats, Joyce, Stoker, Wilde, Synge (sadly, though, Samuel Beckett is only represented by a short excerpt from his novel Murphy) -- and there are plenty of talented "lesser lights" -- including Flann O'Brien, Ethna Carbery and Padraic Colum

This is, without doubt, a strong introduction to Irish literature in English. I probably would have made some different choices, but not many, and as a reminder of what's great in Irish Literature, Regan's collection is the perfect choice for a lazy summer of reading.

[Mary Hodgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m possibly being a tad premature (because I haven’t finished this volume) but quite simply, I just had to put my thoughts on this anthology into words sooner rather than later. The Irish are noted for their “way with words” and this collection vividly demonstrates an unarguable fact!

A source of particular pleasure and enlightenment can be sourced from the words of Oscar Wilde, J.M.
Synge and James Joyce. They rejoice in the simple ordinary things of life that bring pleasure, pain, contentment, acceptance, spirituality and a myriad of other emotions that define us as human beings.

Please read...! You’ll be glad you did!