Irish Women Writers Speak Out: Voices From the Field (review)

Abstract

Since the outrage over the Field Day Anthology'svirtual exclusion of women,feminists and other progressive writers have made a concerted effort to publish and publicize the works and words of Irish women. Irish Women Writers Speak Out is a direct result of this controversy. Although editors Caitriona Moloney and Helen Thompson castigate Field Day'sinitial omission of women, they also maintain that such marginalization is the fault of women writers and editors as well. This attribution of guilt, however, is questionable; Ailbhe Smith and Ann Owens Weekes's names are regularly cited in any critical discussion of Irish women's writing. Moreover, the continued failure of male critics, editors, publishers, and professors to mention or include Irish women writers in anthologies or reading lists suggests that the culture of Irish Studies is hardly woman-friendly.