Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-206) and index.
Contents:
Introduction, An audience of some importance -- "Speranza's son," Irish America dismisses Oscar Wilde, 1882 -- The Celt in Irish America, William Butler Yeats's mission to the new island, 1887-1904 -- "No end of a row," The national theatre in the shadow of Synge, 1903-1909 -- "Weary of misrepresentation," Reconsidering the Irish American reception of the Abbey playwrights, 1911-1913 -- Meet the new gossoon, same as the old gossoon, The Abbey playwrights in Irish America, 1931-1939 -- Through a bowl of bitter tears, darkly, James Joyce and the Amerirish, 1917-1962 -- Receptions of an Irish rebel, Brendan Behan in Irish America, 1960-1964 -- Conclusion.
Summary:
"Literary anthologies feature many of Ireland's most well-known authors, Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, George Bernard Shaw, Seán O'Casey, James Joyce, and Brendan Behan among them. While a number of notable scholars have contended that middle-class Irish Americans rejected or ignored this rebellious group of poets, playwrights, and novelists in favor of a conservative Catholic subculture brought over with the mass migration of the mid-nineteenth century, Stephen G. Butler demonstrates that the transatlantic relationship between these figures and a segment of Irish American journalists and citizens is more complicated--and sometimes more collaborative--than previously acknowledged. Irish Writers in the Irish American Press spans the period from Oscar Wilde's 1882 American lecture tour to the months following JFK's assassination and covers the century in which Irish American identity was shaped by immigration, religion, politics, and economic advancement. Through a close engagement with Irish American periodicals, Butler offers a more nuanced understanding of the connections between Irish literary studies and Irish American culture during this period" -- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.