THE WHITE PAGE

Anne Ulry Colman’s dictionary of Irish women poets born in the 19th century inspired McBreen to research and edit this anthology of those in the 20th-century who were either born in Ireland or have strong ties to the country. McBreen notes that a combination of forces stifled the voices of women writers in Ireland from the 1930s through the 1950s, with effects lingering until “the women’s movement began in earnest in 1970.” Even so, of the 113 poets collected here (50 born before mid-century and 63 after), only a few names are likely to be familiar—Eavan Boland, for example, and American Jean Valentine (who lived in County Sligo from 1989 to 1996 and still contributes regularly to Irish periodicals). Iris Murdoch, famous for her novels and writings on philosophy, published a single collection of poetry, A Year of Birds, in 1978. McBreen credits the emergence of new voices to academic work in Irish studies, to writing groups, and to the British and Irish presses that publish women—Faber & Faber, Carcanet, Bloodaxe, and Arlen House, among others. A photograph, biographical note, and list of published books accompanies each entry.

Because authors are represented by only one poem, this is a sampler rather than a comprehensive introduction—but as a whole it serves as a valuable guide to the particular concerns, themes, and aesthetics of Irish women at this moment in history.