Motherhood, Infertility and Vulnerability in Contemporary Irish Literature brings together established and emerging scholars, alongside contributions by acclaimed Irish authors Emilie Pine and Deirdre Sullivan, to situate literary representations of motherhood within the entanglements of the nation’s transitory sociocultural terrain. Across works of fiction, life writing, memoir and more experimental prose, as well as theatre, the essays in this collection trace how contemporary Irish women writers are articulating the complexities—both individual and shared—of mothering and not mothering in the twenty-first century.With a particular focus on infertility and the vulnerabilities that inhere in mothering, the chapters attend to motherhood as experience, identity and institution; to not-motherhood in both its chosen and imposed forms; and to the vulnerabilities that accompany pregnancy, birthing, child-raising and caregiving. In doing so, the collection also considers how Irish authors are negotiating the lingering figure of Mother Ireland and giving voice to experiences long marked by silence and shame.Collectively, the volume argues that contemporary representations of motherhood in Irish literature are both rewriting cultural memory and speaking boldly to a complex present; showcasing aesthetic innovation, affective weight and transformative power.

In this volume, scholars analyze contemporary Black British and American women’s fiction that tackles issues of violence and its representations. The book gives readers a wide perspective about recent research on the history of Black women who have been subjected to physical and psychological violence, which defines the identities of those women who suffer it. The psychosocial and emotional consequences of violence leave traces that speak of vulnerability, but they also activate resistance and resilience mechanisms as suppliers of identity and personal agency, as reflected on the female characters and authors studied through this volume. The essays aim at publicizing less known writers who denounce abuse, trauma and discrimination, reflecting resilience and resistance mechanisms and taking the ethical rethinking of how we are building our social and culture relations.

Motherhood, Infertility and Vulnerability in Contemporary Irish Literature brings together established and emerging scholars, alongside contributions by acclaimed Irish authors Emilie Pine and Deirdre Sullivan, to situate literary representations of motherhood within the entanglements of the nation’s transitory sociocultural terrain. Across works of fiction, life writing, memoir and more experimental prose, as well as theatre, the essays in this collection trace how contemporary Irish women writers are articulating the complexities—both individual and shared—of mothering and not mothering in the twenty-first century.With a particular focus on infertility and the vulnerabilities that inhere in mothering, the chapters attend to motherhood as experience, identity and institution; to not-motherhood in both its chosen and imposed forms; and to the vulnerabilities that accompany pregnancy, birthing, child-raising and caregiving. In doing so, the collection also considers how Irish authors are negotiating the lingering figure of Mother Ireland and giving voice to experiences long marked by silence and shame.Collectively, the volume argues that contemporary representations of motherhood in Irish literature are both rewriting cultural memory and speaking boldly to a complex present; showcasing aesthetic innovation, affective weight and transformative power.

In this volume, scholars analyze contemporary Black British and American women’s fiction that tackles issues of violence and its representations. The book gives readers a wide perspective about recent research on the history of Black women who have been subjected to physical and psychological violence, which defines the identities of those women who suffer it. The psychosocial and emotional consequences of violence leave traces that speak of vulnerability, but they also activate resistance and resilience mechanisms as suppliers of identity and personal agency, as reflected on the female characters and authors studied through this volume. The essays aim at publicizing less known writers who denounce abuse, trauma and discrimination, reflecting resilience and resistance mechanisms and taking the ethical rethinking of how we are building our social and culture relations.