Good Condition
Departure from Ireland has long occupied a contradictory position in Irish national discourse, alternately viewed as exile or betrayal. This book analyses how departure, as well as notions of home, identity and return, is articulated in the narratives of three members of the Irish diaspora community in Argentina: John Brabazon's journal The Customs and Habits of the Country of Buenos Ayres from the year 1845 by John Brabazon and His Own Adventures; William Bulfin's series of sketches for The Southern Cross newspaper, later published as Tales of the Pampas (1900) and Rambles in Eirinn (1907); and Kathleen Nevin's fictional memoir, You'll Never Go Back (1946). The book examines the extent to which each writer upholds or contests hegemonic constructions of Irishness, as well as exploring how they negotiate the dual identity of emigrant and potential returnee. Each of the three writers, to varying degrees, challenges the orthodox positionings of the Irish diaspora subject as backward-looking and the Irish emigrant as bound to the national territory. Furthermore, they construct multiple subject positions and contradictory notions of Irishness: national, essentialist and homogeneous versus transnational, diverse and plural. Ultimately, their writings contribute to a rich and nuanced reimagining of the Irish emigrant identity.
Publication Data:
Author(s): Sinéad Wall
Publisher: Lang, Peter
Pages: 259
Language: en
Category: History
Genre: History, Latin America, South America, United States, 19th Century, 20th Century, Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies), Literary Criticism, American, European, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, German, Russian & Soviet
ISBN: 1906165661
Kisharon Langdon
Sold by the U.K Charity Kisharon Langdon. Offering Opportunities and Support for People within the Autism and Learning Disability Community.