Anil an Bhil Bheo: Orality and Modern Irish Culture

Product Description Anail an Bheil Bheo brings together a stimulating range of interdisciplinary essays considering the connections between orality and modern Irish culture. From literature to song, folklore to the visual arts, contributors examine not only the connections between oral and textual traditions in Ireland, but also the theoretical concept of 'orality' itself and the corresponding significance of oral texts in Irish society. Featuring work by emerging scholars in the fields of history, literature, folklore, music, women's studies, film and theatre studies and disciplines contributing to Irish Studies, this multifaceted volume also includes contributions from scholars long engaged with issues of orality such as Gearoid O Crualaoich and Henry Glassie. Review This ambitious collection greatly widens the customary scope for exploring the intricate connections between literary culture and oral culture in modern Ireland. The editors and contributors-a fruitful mix of senior and younger scholars-collectively make a powerful case for challenging the common dichotomous alignments that would link orality with the Irish language, traditional culture, and rurality, and that would connect print literacy with the English language, modernity, and urbanity. --Professor James S. Donnelly, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison.In exploring the different forms, expressions and performances of oral cultures in modern Ireland, the essays avoid simple dichotomies and provide persuasive evidence of the centrality of orality and the influence of cultures of literacy in everything from the reporting of military conflict to the shaping of the Joycean oeuvre. Anáil an Bhéil Bheo is a collection that is required reading for anyone with an interest in the emergence of modern Irish society and culture. --Professor Michael Cronin (Centre for Translation and Textual Studies, Dublin City University) About the Author Nessa Cronin is Lecturer in Irish Studies at the Centre for Irish Studies, National University of Ireland, Galway. Sean Crosson is a lecturer with the Huston School of Film and Digital Media at National University of Ireland, Galway. John Eastlake completed his PhD in Irish Studies at the Centre for Irish Studies, National University of Ireland, Galway in 2008, and is currently teaching Irish Studies in Galway.