Academics, poets and public figures have signed a letter calling on Provost Linda Doyle to create a permanent exhibition in Trinity to commemorate the late poet Eavan Boland.
In a letter published in the Irish Times, signatories including former-president Mary Robinson, novelist Joseph O’Connor and poet Paula Meehan asked Trinity to celebrate “one of the university’s most eminent alumni”.
They suggest that one of the libraries be renamed after Boland or a new institution be established in her name.
“It was Eavan’s life’s work to reinstate the role of woman into the cultural, political and historic life of this country after centuries of neglect”, the letter said, “and yet, although much has been done to achieve a better gender balance in many areas of our public life, there remains a deficit when it comes to the celebration of Irish women writers.”
The letter listed exhibitions celebrating male writers such as Seamus Heaney, James Joyce and W. B. Yeats, highlighting that “nowhere is there space for a centre that would celebrate the achievements of this Irish woman writer who has achieved in her own life and work every bit as much as these rightly celebrated men”.
The letter continued: “Given that Eavan studied at Trinity, and later worked there, it seems particularly appropriate that the college might play a part in creating a space that would both pay tribute to her life and work, but also act as a focus for much needed scholarship into the work of Irish women writers as well as providing a role model for the many women currently studying at the university.”
“It might even be appropriate to consider renaming one of the university’s libraries after Eavan, or establishing there a permanent institute and archive for the study of Irish women writers and artists.”
Over 50 people have signed the open letter so far.
Boland passed away in April of last year, aged 75.
She studied English at Trinity from 1962 to 1966, publishing her first collection of poems in her first year.
After graduating, Boland continued writing and publishing while taking on various teaching positions in Trinity, University College Dublin and Bowdoin College in Maine. From 1996 she was a tenured Professor of English at Stanford University.
Her works are a staple of literature study in Trinity, while most students in Ireland no matter what they studied would have encountered Boland’s works on the leaving certificate English curriculum.
Through her work, Boland explored the role of women in Irish society, paying particular attention to the violence experienced by innocents during conflict in Ireland.
She won numerous accolades in her lifetime including a Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry, the American Ireland Fund Literary Award and the Corrington Medal for Literary Excellence.
In 2017, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Book Awards for what was described as her art, her eloquence and her advocacy for poetry.
