The Field Day Anthology of Literature Vols. IV and V Irish Women's Writing and Traditions

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2003
"An extraordinary work of collaborative scholarship that succeeds spendidly in providing 'a set of contexts for understanding how women have lived in Ireland.' An essential purchase."
—Library Journal
"The result is two volumes which span nearly 15 centuries of Irish women and their cultural experiences. Covering literature, journalism, history, and criticism, as well as legal, medical, theological, and scientific writings, the works often appear in both English and Irish. Other sections explore oral traditions, sexuality, religion and theology, and contemporary writing."
—Irish America
"Readers will be amazed at the breadth and depth of these selections, which range from medieval to contemporary, from politics to poetry. There is much of interest here for both the literary specialist and the devotee of Irish literature. . . . Essential."
—CHOICE
"A monumental and heroic work of collective scholarship that will transform our understanding of the Irish literary tradition. Yes she said yes yes."
—Elaine Showalter, Princeton University
"The literary event of the year..."
—Caroline Walshe, Irish Times
"These new volumes are a mighty achievement: the texts and contexts of more than a thousand years of Irish women's writing brilliantly, abundantly presented and comprehended. The editors have redefined the curriculum of studies."
—Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate
"The long-anticipated, two-volume publication of Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing: Irish Women's Writing and Traditions will...redress the traditional exclusion of women's voices from Irish literature."
—Los Angeles Times
"One looks at these two huge volumes of women's writings and traditions and it's difficult not to suspect that this compilation is not a monument to the culmination of the power and creativity of Irish women but rather a signal of almost the beginning of it. It took invincibleness to produce the stories in these 3,200 pages and even to bring the pages together."
—The New York Times
Eleven years in the making, harnessing the skills and expertise of dozens of scholars, Irish Women's Writing and Traditions, Volumes IV and V of the Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing is a true publishing landmark. It represents the most comprehensive volume of Irish women's writing ever published, including more than 900 female writers, from poets of the middle ages to contemporary writers whose work graces international bestseller lists.
Spanning a period from 600 AD to the end of the twentieth century, these two volumes provide a unique resource for the study of Irish society from the perspective of Irish women's writing. This wide-ranging, interdisciplinary work covers literature, journalism, history, and criticism, as well as legal, medical, theological, and scientific writings, and includes sections on oral traditions, sexuality, religion and theology, and contemporary writing.
Within these pages, readers will find the work of both familiar and undiscovered or under-appreciated writers, much of which is previously unpublished or translated from the Irish language for the first time. There are extensive author biographies and bibliographies facilitating further reading and research. Both volumes are fully cross-referenced—including an index to first lines of poetry—with Volumes I-III, which focused on Irish men's writing.
An indispensable resource for scholars, students, and anyone interested in Irish culture, literature, history, or politics. The publication of the final two volumes of the Field Day Anthology is a watershed moment in scholarship and publishing.