The Autobiography of the Irish in Britain: A Critical Anthology

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The literature of the Irish diaspora remains a marginalised field within Irish Studies, one which is rarely represented in influential anthologies and literary histories. My critical anthology, which will be the first of its kind, is envisaged as a significant corrective to the canonical effacement of all but the most critically esteemed of Irish migrant authors, chiefly James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, whose iconic status has tended to obscure the achievement of lesser known figures. The specific focus of my anthology is the autobiographical writings of first-, second- and third-generation Irish writers in Britain since 1700, of which there exists a substantial and richly varied corpus in both published and unpublished forms. Many, though by no means all, of these authors belong to a literary underclass which has traditionally been overlooked by critics and canon-makers and overshadowed by populist and highbrow literature. My book will make the work of these forgotten authors accessible to both a scholarly and a general readership by presenting over 70 thematically arranged extracts, each one thoroughly annotated and prefaced by a detailed critical headnote. The anthology will also feature a substantial contextualising introductory essay which will provide a synoptic overview of Irish emigration to Britain since 1700, explore the uses of autobiography by migrant writers, and analyse the dominant themes and tropes of Irish migrant literature across three centuries. The book will also contain a comprehensive chronology of key historical events and literary publications. This act of literary retrieval is underpinned by two central interrelated objectives: (a) to redress the long-standing and unwarranted neglect of an important dimension of Ireland's literary tradition by carrying out the necessary work of textual recuperation, selection, annotation and critical appraisal; and (b) to challenge received views of the Irish in Britain as an unliterary people by foregrounding the dynamic and differentiated nature of their autobiographical identities, as well as their varied social experiences, activities, attitudes and aspirations.This innovative research project, which builds on my published research in the field of Irish migrant writing, will increase our knowledge of both the nature and extent of Irish diasporic literary cultures, and extend our understanding of the uses of autobiography by different categories of migrants. In addition, the project will prepare the ground for a fresh dialogue about the constitution of the Irish literary canon by advancing the claims of writers who self-consciously see themselves and/or are seen by others as belonging to that tradition. Through its examination of the role of autobiography in the formation and representation of migrant identities, my research will be of potential benefit not only to those interested in Irish diasporic processes and identities, but also to scholars working on cognate diasporic cultures.