The phrase “the shoulders of giants” is possibly overused, but reading this anthology of essays by female Irish writers, it is at the forefront of the mind. Edited by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, this hugely important publication tracks the journeys of several writers who were pushing the boundaries long before the prominence of the notable Irish female novelists of the past decade.
In her foreword to Look! It’s a Woman Writer! Martina Devlin observes that “not everybody born with the capability of becoming a writer can fulfil their potential. Life throws up obstacles: lack of means, lack of self-belief, lack of opportunity, lack of supports”. Many of the basic challenges for women in Ireland throughout the latter half of the 20th century such as the assumption that women belonged in the home (90 per cent of women were “official homemakers”), the late introduction of free education, and tax laws that deemed women to be an extension of their husbands made the presence and emergence of professional female writers rare.
Sophia Hillan writes about being refused a chequebook because she was married and earning a much lower salary than her husband despite equal academic achievements. These everyday hurdles show how resilient women writers of this time needed to be, to put pen to paper and pursue their questions, concerns and reflections, that were so needed but not wanted by the society they inhabited.
Critical innovations such as the National Women Writers’ Workshops run by Arlen House, brought support and guidance through mentors including Eavan Boland. The “oxygen” generated by these creative spaces provided women with a “feasible alternative to the literary pub”, the haunt and inspiration station of male writers of the time. It is a humbling reminder that long before the Waking the Feminists movement, or #MeToo, there were women breaking new ground and pushing for reform that would enable future generations to have a voice.
Lia Mills writes a powerful account of sexual violence towards women in her searing essay The World Split Open. Describing being a writer at the time of the X case, she discusses the impact on women of the time as well as the continued failings of our justice system in the treatment of victims of sexual assault and rape. Her acknowledgement of writers such as Louise O’Neill, Lisa Harding and June Caldwell echoes the strong sense in the anthology of the handing over of a baton for the next generation to continue the race.
‘Lost books’
Censorship and banned books are a strong theme, highlighting the huge importance of publishers such as Arlen House, Attic Press and Salmon Poetry in rescuing, showcasing and encouraging important female voices. As the guardians of the canon actively sought to remove key voices, these houses were refuges for new writers and the revival and re-issue of “lost books”. Kate O’Brien and Edna O’Brien are mentioned, writers who essentially had to flee Ireland due to wrongful shaming of their writing for portraying sexuality. Interestingly, as literary censorship began to lessen, the ban extended to include books that mentioned contraception through “immoral” means. Women continued to be shamed for being active commentators on their bodies and key issues for their health.
The anthology includes stunning reflections to be savoured and re-read. Cherry Smyth’s beautiful homage to her practice and the direction it gave her is an incredible piece: “I could have made maps to understand where I was, but the lines meant nothing without words and slowly words made contours make sense… writing made things sayable, made self-knowable. Writing speaks for you when you’re not there. I left and kept returning in language. In language, I never left.”
Mary O’Malley’s Notes on the Early Days reflects on her returning to Ireland after living abroad in the grim era of the 1980s recession. “Poetry had gripped me early, and I refused to let go” sets out her devotion to the craft that would become a pillar of her future.
From the time when a woman writer was branded “an eccentric”, to now, when we are internationally recognised for our female writers, this publication is a vital account of the journey to here. As Alan Hayes describes it: “Publishing is implicitly a political activity and experience.” The publisher and writer forged a path through the fire.
