In April, I participated in the #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, responding every day to a prompt supplied by Irish bookseller Karina Clifford, who discusses her project here. It was mad fun, and I discovered lots of new books as a result, particularly in some categories I often overlook, such as YA fiction. The following is my list for the challenge. I’ve also included a more scholarly thread outlining some of the reasons why I think the challenge is important from a cultural perspective. Click on the tweets for the full threads! And for a full list of all the tweets I dashed off with the hashtag, click here.
THREAD The reason why I like the #ReadIrishWomenChallenge isn’t just because I’m discovering lots of brilliant books or think people should read more women’s writing. As an academic, and particularly a scholar of Famine memory, I think the issue of canonicity is hugely important.
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 6, 2019
Here goes, day 1. ‘Book that made you laugh’. I’m choosing two recent collections, both darkly funny, by @junecaldwell and @nicoleflattery. Both are superb. #ReadIrishWomenChallenge pic.twitter.com/vPWr1bqIys
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 1, 2019
Day 2 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, and I’m picking two again. Set during the Famine – not my fave period as such, but I wrote my PhD about it. Both these novels are flawed, but massively interesting. E.M. Field, Denis (1896), and The Hunger (1910) by the fascinating Mildred Darby
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 2, 2019
As an academic, I’m going to cheat for day 3 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (book out this year). I’m currently reading this by @SineadExeter. I’m choosing it because so far it’s a fab study of major themes in Irish culture, with significance beyond its stated topic.@LivUniPress pic.twitter.com/zFTtXOb28n
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 2, 2019
Love day 4 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge – ‘cream cover’. Two again: @OonaFrawley’s beautiful novel about identity and belonging, and Eimear McBride’s smash hit, which I got years ago, was fascinated by, but never finished, as I wasn’t in the right place for it. Just started again. pic.twitter.com/IGQ9XkpDgt
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 3, 2019
My pick for day 5 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (siblings) is obvious: Anne Enright. I greatly admire her essays, but have never been a huge fan of her fiction. However, hearing her read at a conference last year made me pick up all sorts of nuances I hadn’t noticed before. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/BwjvDwHdh1
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 4, 2019
For day 6 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, I’m going for what’s probably the first classic novel by an Irish woman, Maria Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent (1800). I put off reading it for years, assuming it was looong, so was chuffed when I found out it’s actually short and fascinating. pic.twitter.com/bhnahUnHke
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 5, 2019
Oh, I mixed up days 6&7 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge 😖. So Edgeworth was actually popular fiction, and here’s my classic: Kate O’Brien, The Land of Spices (1941). Having been reared on Joyce &c., I always saw censorship as something that affected Real Literature such as Ulysses, pic.twitter.com/u4KPm5Qses
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 6, 2019
Roll on day 8 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: book made into film. I’m going for the most obvious option: @EDonoghueWriter’s Room. But here’s why: 1. I love the book personally. I’m usually wary of books with a young narrator, as they often tend to be cloyingly cutesy, but Room
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 7, 2019
Day 9 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: TBR pile. I’m an erratic reader and always have dozens of books on the go, but this is sort of the pile at the moment for Irish(-American) women’s writing. Not including books on my challenge list and the 5 books I ordered and am waiting for. pic.twitter.com/q8X1W9Bo6T
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 8, 2019
For day 10 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, a wee thread. Having grown up in the Netherlands, I can’t find a text by an Irish woman writer that’s set where I’m from, technically – also because I grew up in 5 different places, I suppose. So for today, I’m choosing Bowen and Murdoch. pic.twitter.com/vXm1NkmjT4
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 9, 2019
For day 11 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, another short thread. Today's prompt: poetry collection or play. So I'm going for both, of course. My play's by Mary Manning, my poetry collection by Eavan Boland. Again, the leitmotif is the interplay between identity and history. pic.twitter.com/WOQXvj5Amk
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 10, 2019
Going all academic again for day 12 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: book that had an impact on you. Two again: @kellehmv's and @MelissaFegan's indispensable books on #IrishFamine writing. I started thinking about this topic back in 2007 when I started my BA thesis on Irish-American pic.twitter.com/bDaBuH8oza
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 11, 2019
Day 13 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: mythology etc. This is a peculiar one: I’m going for Lady Augusta Gregory, almost single-handedly (shush, WB) responsible for the Revival. Yet she was married to William Gregory, who introduced the Quarter Acre Clause during the Famine – which, pic.twitter.com/EOWspAtkoH
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 12, 2019
Day 14 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (crime): Claire Kilroy’s The Devil I Know. It’s not noir, and has supernatural, Faustian elements, but it sublimely satirises the Celtic Tiger, laying bare the hubris, larceny, and mendacity – large and small – that propelled Ireland’s boom. pic.twitter.com/hoWNxYva80
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 14, 2019
For day 15 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (an illustrated book), a somewhat curious choice: Beginner’s Irish Dictionary, by Helen Davies and John Shackell. I got this book from my aunt and uncle in 1998 or so, when I started developing an interest in my grandad’s country and its pic.twitter.com/3xZpOSFli9
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 15, 2019
OK, day 16 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: book you’d most like to receive. I’m a greedy little so-and-so, so I’m going to just cut and paste images, as if this were my Christmas wish list but compiled from publishers’ not toy catalogues. It was my birthday April 1st. Hint, hint! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/GKM7hMmjcV
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 15, 2019
Day 17 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: award-winning books. Well, Irish writers seem to be hoovering up prizes at the moment (yay!), so I’m spoiled for choice. Here are three of the most high-profile recent ones: @SwearyLady, Sally Rooney, and Anna Burns. Haven’t finished
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 17, 2019
Day 18 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (most recently read) is tricky, as I’ve been reading mostly for this the past weeks! But I recently finished @beingvarious’ Multitudes and it was a thing of pleasure. And one I’ve just started reading: @WednesdayErskin’s lovely Sweet Home. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/nYe3kI6ssR
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 17, 2019
Day 19 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: literary mag. WELL, DUH. @bansheelit all the way. Edited by the redoubtable @ljcassidy, @chennessybooks, and @eimear_ryan, this is a cornucopia of splendid new writing and I’ve discovered some great authors here. Must get me more back issues. pic.twitter.com/9WE1UHhejb
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 18, 2019
OH! It’s the 20th, so for #ReadIrishWomenChallenge it’s LGBTQI+ protagonist. So happy to get the chance to plug @chennessybooks’ magnificent Like Other Girls. It covers most letters, is beautifully written, and has very convincing protagonists. Both as a teacher educator and as a
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 20, 2019
Day 21 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: YA. I ordered two books specifically for this, by @propermiss and @griffski. The illustrations in Deirdre’s (if I may) book are sublime, but haven’t got round to reading it yet. However, am 25% into Sarah’s (is OK?) new novel, and it’s superb. pic.twitter.com/nR4iOM4HwA
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 20, 2019
73% into #ReadIrishWomenChallenge. Day 22: the supernatural. @EoghanSmith5 recommended @humbird_fuil’s Follow Me to Ground a while back. I finished it in one sitting. It’s a superbly eerie and tragic tale about belonging and love. After I finished it, I couldn’t think of what it pic.twitter.com/hVAeq6IYan
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 21, 2019
Can’t sleep, so here’s my day 23 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge, book that made you cry. Two obvious recent candidates here: @emiliepine and @sineadgleeson. Notes to Self is just sublime, and I’ve been giving away copies to friends. “From the Baby Years” and “Something About Me” pic.twitter.com/QKtYGFtV9C
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 23, 2019
Day 24 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: book I’d recommend to friends. Well, I’ve a habit of buying friends books or donating my own copies. A few books on the list have enjoyed this fate. One I lent to several friends and have since given away is @Emer_OToole’s Girls Will Be Girls. pic.twitter.com/ZzMHm0BHEt
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 24, 2019
Day 25 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: travel book. Cheating a little here, as it's a book about Ireland by an American. Asenath Nicholson was a philanthropist who visited Ireland just before the Famine and returned during the crisis, walking around the country and offering help pic.twitter.com/1CBraGUoZ6
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 25, 2019
For day 26 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge (New Irish/diaspora): Melatu Uche Okorie and Alice McDermott. The three stories in This Hostel Life each have their own voice and tragedies, and prove that Okorie is a major talent. Let’s hope this slim book is a prelude to something even pic.twitter.com/rHid2t6ZIt
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 26, 2019
Day 27 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: dystopian etc. One I bought for the challenge but haven't actually read yet (shaaame!): @SarahDavisGoff. Not just because Last Ones Left Alive looks brilliant, but also because Sarah deserves ALL the good things as co-founder of @TrampPress! pic.twitter.com/Z2lP1tBIDC
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 27, 2019
Day 28 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: anthology. I just got this, edited by @drdawnmiranda and Linda Anderson, and have been dipping into it. Loving it, and the cover’s amazing. Also looking forward to @beingvarious’ new book – hoping to pick up a copy @LRBbookshop this Thursday! pic.twitter.com/R1y5vWbsn4
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 28, 2019
Day 29 (dreading the end) of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge: non-fiction. Two books. And a surprise third at the end! This is the chance to go meta, so two exceptionally important recent studies of Irish women’s writing, courtesy of @ClionaUCC, Heather Ingman, @was925, and @anna_pilz. pic.twitter.com/PpubO1wRj1
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 28, 2019
And so to day 30 of #ReadIrishWomenChallenge. Next read: loads! Lots I bought because of this, inc. @Celine_Kiernan, @beingvarious, @propermiss, etc. Will also get more by @chennessybooks and have two by @MarianKeyes waiting. And hoping to get @DoireannNiG’s Lies here in London. pic.twitter.com/sqEC6LMgQW
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 30, 2019
So that’s a wrap for #ReadIrishWomenChallenge. Huge props to @jabberwocky888 for curating this initiative! I’ve discovered so many new books and had massive fun talking to other readers and Proper Writers! Maybe @MartinDoyleIT might run a piece on the challenge? Any volunteers? pic.twitter.com/j9N6JG3Xa0
— Chris Cusack 🦖 (@FearfulJoycuit) April 30, 2019
Christopher Cusack 