Before joining MSU as a PhD student in HALE, I received a master’s degree in Irish literature from Trinity College in Dublin. My top three picks for Irish and Irish-American literature are:
- TransAtlantic by Irish-American author Colum McCann: TransAtlantic is the story of three important Irish events told from the viewpoint of famous men, and the fictional account of three women who tie these stories together over more than a century.
- Translations by Irish playwright Brian Friel: Translations is a play set in the West of Ireland in the early 1800s. The play focuses on the loss of the Irish language as a result of continued British colonization of the island.
- The Story of Lucy Gault by Irish novelist and playwright William Trevor: This novel is a “Big House” novel (think Downton Abbey but in Ireland). The Big Houses were owned by the Anglo-Irish ruling class, and there is a whole genre of Irish literature paralleling the decline of the Anglo-Irish power to the physical decline of their big houses in the early 20th century.
Missed the last CED in 3? Salomón “Salo” Rodezno, a HALE doctoral student, shares 3 favorite horror films