CFP: Contemporary Irish-American Women Writers (7/1/03; collection)

full name / name of organization: 
Sally Barr Ebest
contact email: 

Contemporary Irish-American Women Writers

Where are the contemporary women novelists in Irish Studies? Why is no =
one writing about them? Not until Charles Fanning's survey of =
Irish-American fiction from the 1760s to the 1980s, The Irish Voice in =
America, was there any extended, critical, contextualized discussion of =
these women. Fanning's closing chapter mentions popular novelists =
Colleen McCullough, Joan Bagnell, Carol O'Brien Blum, and Caryl Rivers; =
discusses the works of Elizabeth Savage, Elaine Ford, Susanna Moore, =
Diana O'Hehir, Mary Gordon, and Ellen Currie; and pays tribute to =
Elizabeth Cullinan and Maureen Howard. Despite Fanning's survey and =
introduction, there were no collections of Irish-American women's =
writing until 1997. Caledonia Kearns' Cabbage and Bones and her =
subsequent collection, Motherland introduced short stories and excerpts =
from the novels of 20th century Irish-American women. Little has been =
done since.

We propose to fill this gap. We are soliciting essays which introduce =
the works of Irish-American women novelists for an edited collection =
tentatively titled Contemporary Irish-American Women Writers. These =
essays should describe the authors' key works, draw on relevant =
criticism, discuss how they are representative of Irish-American voices, =
and contextualize these findings by including an interview with the =
author. They should also be jargon-free and accessible to readers =
outside the academy. In addition to the authors listed above, we are =
also interested in the works of Alice McDermott, Joyce Carol Oates, Anna =
Quindlen, Alice Munro, Jean McGarry, Tess Gallagher, Maura Stanton, Mary =
McGarry Morris, Eileen Myles, Kathleen Ford, Eileen Fitzgerald, Valerie =
Sayers, Gabrielle Donnelly, Madelaine Blais, Maeve Brennan, Mary Doyle =
Curran, and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Deadline for submission: July 1, 2003.

In the meantime, we are open to questions and would be happy to review =
abstracts.

Contact Sally Barr Ebest at sebest_at_umsl.edu ;

contact Kathleen McInerney at k-mcinerney_at_csu.edu .

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Received on Sun Nov 10 2002 - 16:40:28 EST