Reading Anne Enright: Rewriting Ireland

Call for Submissions for an Edited Volume on Anne Enright

Anne Enright’s recent Man Booker win for her fourth novel, The Gathering,
has further increased the visibility of a writer whose work has always
attracted a large amount of public attention, both in terms of literary
reviews and press interviews, as well as through her array of literary
accolades. However, surprisingly, such recognition has not been matched in
the academic realm. There is a sustained absence of critical material
examining her work in the fields of contemporary Irish fiction,
contemporary fiction in general, and feminist studies alike. The reasons
for such critical invisibility may be due to the experimentation of her
literary style and an absence of theoretical paradigms through which to
incorporate the experimental and the feminine in the Irish context.
Traditionally, the space of experiment in the Irish canon has been mainly
attributed to male writers and Enright’s work troubles such associations
This volume seeks to redress this imbalance by affording her work a
book-length survey. Enright is one of the most innovative and experimental
writers in Ireland today whose work encompasses a wide range of genres,
themes, and interests. Her recent recognition by the Man Booker judges, the
forthcoming publication of her second collection of short stories, and her
incisive engagement fictionally with Celtic Tiger Ireland prove this to be
a timely moment to critically explore her novels, short stories,
journalism, and non-fiction. The editors are particularly interested in
essays that focus on her style, her situation in a postmodern and
experimental tradition in Irish and/or non-Irish writing, her engagement
with culture and social change, tradition and modernity, memory, and gender
and sexuality, but are open to any theme or theoretical perspective.

Deadline for Submissions: Abstracts due July 2008, Essays due February 2009

Queries and submissions should be sent to Dr Claire Bracken (Union College,
NY) and Dr Susan Cahill (University College Dublin) at
reading.anne.enright_at_gmail.com

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Received on Wed Feb 13 2008 - 11:15:22 EST