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NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL (b. 1952) 06/05/2011

Irish Nuala

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Irish poetry

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Page 1: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL (b.

1952)

06/05/2011

Page 2: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

writes only in Irish dual-language collections of poetry

‘...writing Irish poetry in English suddenly seemed a very stupid thing to be doing. I switched language in mid-poem and wrote the very same

poem in Irish, and I could see immediately that it was much

better.’

Page 3: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

writing in Irish as both a literary and political statement

a natural language in which to write a way to recover the female voice in

Irish poetry that the English male tradition gradually eclipsed.

“ I feel that what I represent is the aboriginal Irish somehow.”

Page 4: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

“Irish in the Irish context is the language of the Mothers, because everything that has been done to women has been done to Irish. It has been marginalized, its status has been taken from it...”

Page 5: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

Irish - spoken by a small minority of native speakers principally found in rural pockets on the western seaboard

the Gaeltacht - Irish-speaking communities

the number of Irish speakers: 60,000, or about 2 percent of the population of the Republic of Ireland

Page 6: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

biblical stories set beside the tales of Irish folklore

“The Language Issue” the unforeseen voyage this poem

might take touching on the politics of the

Irish/English language

Page 7: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

poetic speakers from Irish mythology , Celtic legends and fairy tales

fascinated with the “otherworld” images of strong women, (warrior)

goddesses and queens restores the goddesses to the

independent and active roles they once had

Page 8: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

In Gaelic society before the 16th and 17th ct colonization of Ireland, women enjoyed a higher status and greater independence than they have since

literary evidence suggests that women shared equal status with men

Page 9: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

her female speakers wield authority equal to or greater than that of their male counterparts

they express responses to the external world

assertive and very self-cofident women

Page 10: Irish Nuala

“Medb Speaks”

War I will declare from nowOn all men of Ireland

On all the corner boys Lying curled in children’s cradles

Their willies worthlessWnting no womanAll macho boasting

Last night they beddedA Grecian princess -

(“Medb Speaks”)

Page 11: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

a relationship btw. mythological figures and contemporary women

women readily confront men and sometimes become the aggressors

linking gender and political oppression

Page 12: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

parallels between the images of Christian saints and goddesses from Irish mythology

challenging the notions of Christian asceticism and images of woman promoted by the Catholic Church

Page 13: Irish Nuala

“Annunciations”

“Remember O most tender virgin Mary That never was it known That a man came to you In the darkness alone…”

Page 14: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

challenging the denial of the flesh (Boland’s “Flesh is heretic”)

challenging patriarchal oppression of Christianity

women condemned for their sensuality

Page 15: Irish Nuala

“The Visitor”

You are welcome here, my Lord, make yourself comfortable, at home

… You take no notice of me ...

Here I stand naked in front of you, I am not worthy ...

Domine non sum dignus ...

Page 16: Irish Nuala

“Monk”

I am temptation.You know me.

Sometimes I’m Eve,Sometimes the snake:

I slide into your reverieIn the middle of brightest day.

I shine ike the sun in an orchard.

Page 17: Irish Nuala

“Monk”

But it’s not to torment youEvery day I rise –But to drown youIn love’s delights.

...That’s the only reason I haunt you:my monk, my apostle, my priest.

Page 18: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

the inversion of the usual casting of woman as muse and as national territory

an altered perspective a woman writer “returning the

compliment” to males writers “Your nude body is an island /

asprawl on the ocean bed. How / beautiful your limbs ...”

(“Island”)

Page 19: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

the body in Irish remains extremely open and un-coy

almost impossible to be "rude" or "vulgar" in Irish

the body becomes a source of laughter rather than anything to be ashamed of

Page 20: Irish Nuala

NUALA NI DHOMHNAILL

exploring the female psyche encouraging an interrogation of

established mythic representations