Out of History is the first book to appear on the work of award-winning Irish author Sebastian Barry. Barry is recognized as one of Ireland's greatest living writers and his works now appear regularly on syllabuses in U.S.colleges, in Irish Studies and in Drama departments. This book, edited by Christina Hunt Mahony, presents twelve essays that trace the development of the writer's career and the individual achievement of his works, concentrating largely, but not exclusively, on the...
Ours would appear to be an era of unprecedented variation in the mediation of meaning – television, computer, the older forms of radio and print. Since, however, such profusion of resources has not of itself guaranteed enhanced profundity or sophistication in our modes of understanding – psychological, sociological, philosophical, historical, and theological – the issue of the continued relevance of cultural forms, dependent both on the human voice and on ritualization, presents itself for...
Poems 2000-2005 is a transitional collection written while the author – also known to be W. J. Me Cormack, literary historian – was in the process of moving back from London to settle in rural Ireland. It is also a vigorous contribution to the age-old dialogue between Sacred and Profane themes, questioning beliefs and pleasures, guilts and landscapes, poetic methods and prosaic realities. Included are some of the most disturbing and accomplished meditations on communal violence in Ulster, the...
Polite Forms was written between January, 2008 and June, 2011. Although the whole sequence is, perhaps self-evidently, it is a meditation on family life written from the perspective of a man in his early fifties.
In his early twenties Goethe wrote Proserpina for the Weimar court singer Corona Schröter to perform. His interest in presenting Weimar’s first professional singer-inresidence in a favourable light was not the only reason why this monologue with music (now lost) by Seckendorff is important. Goethe’s memories of his sister Cornelia, who had recently died in childbirth, were in fact the real catalyst: through this work Goethe could level accusations against his parents about Cornelia’s marriage,...
This is a book of insight and imagination. It is a literary tour de force, where 28 Irish plays are examined and their rich cultural context exposed in a way that educates and excites. To read Anne O'Reilly's analysis leaves one longing to return to theatre and to play. While the text is utterly readable, the ideas shared are profound. The theme 'journey' is common in every play but it is explored from different angles; we glimpse understandings of the journey in search of...
'The Drunkard is a wonderfully eloquent play.’Young Edward Kilcullen's life is blighted by alcohol. Lawyer McGinty desires possession of all the Kilcullens ever owned and relishes the prospect of his demise. However, the temperance preacher and philanthropist Sir Arden Rencelaw is at hand…Can the young Kilcullen be saved? And what is Agnes, the maniac's, hidden secret? Comedy, tragedy, heroics, villainy and song in this exuberant, life affirming version of The Drunkard.'
The Informer, Tom Murphy’s stage adaptation of Liam O’Flaherty’s novel, was produced in the 1981 Dublin Theatre Festival, directed by the playwright himself, with Liam Neeson in the leading role. The central subject of the play is the quest a character at the point of emotional and moral breakdown for some source of meaning or identity. In the case of Gypo Nolan, the informer of the title, this involves a nightmarish progress through a Dublin underworld in which he changes from a Judas figure to...
With such plays as The Beauty Queen (1996), The cripple of Irishman (1997), The Lonesome West (1997), A skull in Connemara (1997), The Lieutenant of Irishmore (2001), and The Pillowman (2003) Martin McDonagh has made a huge reputation for himself internationally, winning multiple awards for his work and enjoying universal critical acclaim. Most recently, he won an Oscar for his short film, Six Shooter (2006). This Collection of essays is a vital and significant response to the many challenges...
Her book, written in the mid-20th century, is now published in full for the first time. It draws on her long experience as performer, broadcaster what she learnt from her teachers about Liszt’s interpretation of the piano music of his contemporaries, in particular of his friend Chopin, how he wanted his own piano works performed, and what special techniques facilitated the interpretations he favoured, as well as his own virtuoso performance. This is presented in discussions of many well-known...
Death is silent; all the ‘tales’ we hear about it – be they of a religious, philosophical, scientific or artistic nature – are told by other humans. but specific deaths are often utilised to reconfirm or challenge existing societal structures, values and belief systems. the eight ‘tales’ collated here – based on the work of the Research Strand Death, Burial and the Afterlife at University College Dublin’s College of arts and humanities – present numerous interdisciplinary examples of how this...
Born of a virgin, crucified under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried, and rose again on the third day – this, the Church’s conception of Jesus, is based on mystical and mythological thinking. But Jesus is not a citizen of another world, he is not an alien who dwelt amongst us for a short time. He is no omniscient and almighty miracle worker. And he is not an only-begotten Son of God. The author looks at the gospels from a modern angle. Was Jesus a person like us? He investigates these issues...