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Writing the Past

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The Vanishing World of The Islandman

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology ((PSLA))

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Abstract

In this chapter, Nic Craith debunks the myth that Tomás Ó Criomhthain (like many “peasant writers”) was unlettered. She explores the influence of European literary giants such as Pierre Loti, Knut Hamsun and Maxim Gorky on Ó Criomhthain, and explores his storytelling journey. Through a phenomenology of writing, Nic Craith examines the process and implications of handwriting a memoir. With reference to three subsequent Irish-language editions, Nic Craith queries the representative nature of the published texts and the denial of agency to an island author who was moving along a continuum from oral to literary expressions.

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Bibliography

Editions of the Memoir

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK

    Máiréad Nic Craith

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  1. Máiréad Nic Craith
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Correspondence to Máiréad Nic Craith .

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Nic Craith, M. (2020). Writing the Past. In: The Vanishing World of The Islandman. Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25775-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25775-0_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25774-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25775-0

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