| Writers and Protestantism in the North of Ireland: Heirs to Adamnation? Contributor(s): Sloan, Barry (Author) |
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ISBN: 0716526360 ISBN-13: 9780716526360 Publisher: Irish Academic Press OUR PRICE: $49.88 Product Type: Hardcover Published: August 2000 Annotation: How did Protestantism influence the subject matter and vision of twentieth century writers from the north of Ireland? Was it a merely negative, inhibiting, backward-looking and self-defensive force within the community, as some observers have claimed? Theologically, politically and culturally, was it ever a source of creative energy and a stimulus to the literary imagination? These are some of the questions this book confronts in a new and wide ranging examination of the relationship between northern Irish Protestantism and writing. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh |
| Dewey: 820.994 |
| LCCN: 99085975 |
| Physical Information: 1.5" H x 6.2" W x 9.1" (1.63 lbs) 280 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Ireland |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book offers a new and revealing examination of the influence of Protestantism and Protestant cultural practices on twentieth-century writers from the north of Ireland. Northern Protestantism is often dismissed as wholly negative and obstructive, associated with values and attitudes that are locked in the past, and hostile to challenge. Theologically, politically and culturally it has been readily discounted as a creative force. These are some of the judgements, which are critically examined here. The central subject -- a series of chapters dealing with individual writers -- is approached through a section, which provides a theological and historical context for Protestantism in Ulster. Nineteenth and twentieth century Protestant interpretations on the history of their church in Ulster are included, focusing especially on the Presbyterian community and showing how it moved away from its radical dissent during the nineteenth century, entering into greater accommodation with the Church of Ireland in the face of the recruiting power of evangelicalism and the rise of Home Rule politics. The literature of writers with Ulster Protestant backgrounds is examined, and in each case attentions centre on their reactions to their origins and its theology and culture, its influence upon them and in many cases, the nature of their dissent from it. One chapter deals specifically with autobiographical writing, introducing less familiar names (e.g. Robert Lynd, Denis Ireland, Thomas Carnduff) as well as better known figures, including Louis MacNeice, Derek Mahon and Tom Paulin. While the last two chapters consider the representation of Protestant character and experience in a selection of novelsand plays. Works here include examples by Janet McNeill, Maurice Leitch, Glenn Patterson, St. John Ervine, John Boyd and Stewart Parker. The book is arranged so that the readers can easily focus on specific subjects within it or use it as a wide-ranging study of a complex inheritance that is often overlooked. |