“The World in Terms of Mirror Imaging”: an Interview with Mary O’Donnell

Abstract

The writer Mary O’Donnell (County Monaghan, 1954) is one of Ireland’s most prominent authors. She has published eight collections of poetry including Unlegendary Heroes (1998), The Ark Builders (2009), Those April Fevers (2015) and most recently Massacre of the Birds (2020), four novels, among them The Light-Makers (1992), The Elysium Testament (1999) and Where They Lie (2014), and three collections of short stories: Strong Pagans (1991), Storm over Belfast (2008) and Empire (2018). She has also published a dozen essays and hundreds of reviews of both theatre and books. Besides, she is a frequent contributor to RTE Radio. Her voice and presence in Irish letters has been closely connected to the culture of her country. Her literature reflects the spirit of the age in which it is produced and revolves around phenomena that deeply affect the world today. Her range of subjects includes gender identity crises, mental instability, marriage in relation to female experience, sexuality, domestic and gender violence, child abuse, the artist in crisis, infertility, dysfunctional families, ecology and the natural world and the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland. Her works, written with immense talent, vivacity, skill, cleverness and humor, have been translated into several languages. In this interview, Mary O’Donnell discusses her most recent works in poetry and narrative: her collection of poems Massacre of the Birds (2020), her collection of short stories Empire (2018) and the novel Where They Lie (2014).