Northern Irish Writing After the Troubles: Intimacies, Affects, Pleasures

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Winner of the British Association for Comtemporary Literary Stuides (BACLS) monograph prize The period since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has seen a sustained decrease in violence and, at the same time, Northern Ireland has undergone a literary renaissance, with a fresh generation of writers exploring innovative literary forms. This open access book explores contemporary Northern Irish fiction and how the post-conflict period has led writers to a renewed engagement with intimacy and intimate life. Magennis draws on affect and feminist theory to examine depictions of intimacy, pleasure and the body in their writings and shows how intimate life in Northern Ireland is being reshaped and re-written. Featuring short reflective pieces from some of todays most compelling Northern Irish Writers, including Lucy Caldwell, Jan Carson, Bernie McGill and David Park, this book provides authoritative insights into how a contemporary engagement with intimacy provides us with new ways to understand Northern Irish identity, selfhood and community. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

Reviews

I was lucky enough to be an early reader of this book and it brings a radical, humane rush of energy to Northern Irish literary criticism. Its a privilege to be so closely and sharply read alongside so many contemporary writers. * Lucy Caldwell, novelist and playwright *
Magennis has cultivated a vital space and an important feminist methodological framework to inspire the next generation of scholarly thinking about Northern Ireland. The themes of intimacy, affect, and pleasure that structure this text offer a profound rethinking of the study of Northern Ireland, one that addresses the people who live there as subjects with complex needs and desires than simply products of war. Overall, this is a significant and rigorous body of research from an exciting and conscientious voice at the forefront of the field of Northern Irish studies. * Irish University Review *
Fascinating and educative. * Bookmunch *
Throughout the chapters Magenniss voice is clear, sharp, passionate and unapologetic, and this becomes more than an academic monograph, but an almost autoethnographic journey to reimagine how we read and understand contemporary Northern Irish fiction. Its honesty and intimacy are engaging, as if Magennis is addressing each of us, regaling the reader with stories and analysis that bring the text to life. That is not to say that this is not a rigorous researched monograph, on the contrary. Magennis work is without question detailed, thoughtful and measured. But her writing style is accessible, clear, concise, and retains a sense of personality often missing from so many academic monographs. * Irish Studies Review *
Genuinely innovative. This book offers a refreshingly provocative and much needed critical reassessment of hegemonic readings of Northern Irish fiction. It affirms its timeliness by situating the importance of intimacy, the body, and pleasure not only within the specific context of post-Agreement Northern Ireland but also the current COVID-19 pandemic. * Dr Stefanie Lehner, Senior Lecturer in Irish Literature, Queens University Belfast, UK *

Author Bio

Caroline Magennis is Lecturer in 20th and 21st Century Literature at the University of Salford, UK. She is the author of Sons of Ulster: Masculinities in the Contemporary Northern Irish Novel (2010).