Redefinitions of Irish Identity

Recently, the issue of postnationalism has encouraged intense debate, which has been reflected in the publication of numerous books and articles in various fields of study, including politics, history, philosophy and anthropology. However, the work produced in Irish literary criticism has been much sparser. This collection of essays aims to fill this gap and provide new insights into the debate on postnationalism in Ireland from the perspective of narrative writing. The book collects thirteen essays by academics from various countries, including Ireland, the United States and Sweden. It analyses the concepts of the postnational and the postnationalist in relation to globalisation, as well as the debate that postnationalist discourse has opened in various fields of knowledge, and its definitions and implications in the contemporary Irish historical and literary context. The literary forms under consideration include essay writing, drama, fiction, autobiography, film and poetry. The authors whose work is analysed here include Dermot Bolger, Hubert Butler, Ciaran Carson, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, Marie Jones, Derek Mahon, Frank McGuinness, Robert McLiam Wilson, Conor McPherson, Sinéad Morrissey, Nuala O’Faolain and David Wheatley.

Irene Gilsenan Nordin is Professor of English at the University of Dalarna, Sweden. She is Director of DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies), and editor of Nordic Irish Studies. Her scholarly work is mainly concerned with contemporary Irish poetry.
Carmen Zamorano Llena is Assistant Professor at the University of Dalarna, Sweden, and has previously taught at the University of Lleida, Spain. She has published on contemporary Irish and British poetry and fiction. Her current research focuses on literary representations of postnationalist identity, ageing and the migrant experience.