Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present - Softcover

A rich treasury of writing by and about Ireland's women. This is the first volume of its kind to present a collection of writings by and about Ireland's women. From Queen Maeve of Connaught to President Mary Robinson, this book presents Irish women as their compatriots? men and women both? have described and interpreted them. Modern Irish women are outspoken about the issues that rouse their passion? love and sex, marriage and divorce, abortion and adoption. As Katie Donovan says in her introduction: "Our selection is intended to give the reader a taste of the varied spectrum, from the courtly praise of men to swinish male chauvinism; from women's declarations of outrage against church and state to their celebrations of childbirth and motherhood." This book celebrates the vast range of women's thought and activity, their spirituality, and their passions. The women who appear in this collection are both well known and unknown, real and invented. The editors have drawn freely upon translations of the mythological tales and later Irish poems, upon letters, biographies, and newspapers as well as prose and poetry, plays, recordings and songs, in order to present a complex multilayered and richly rewarding view of Ireland's women.

Katie Donovan is a poet and journalist. She worked for the Irish Times for 13 years as a journalist in the Features department. She qualified as an Amatsu practitioner (a form of Japanese osteopathy) and now combines this work with part-time lecturing in Creative Writing at IADT, Dun Laoghaire. Her poems have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies in Ireland, the UK, and the US.