In the cosy surroundings of the Irish Writers Centre, an intimate crowd gathered to commemorate the launch of New Lines, an anthology celebrating female Northern Irish writers.
The recent launch of the book in Belfast, a homecoming of sorts for the book and its authors, saw a packed-out crowd in attendance, with several people relegated to standing in any spare space they could find. Remarking on the difference, Gráinne Tobin, a contributor to the anthology, said that the Dublin crowd was “much more refined than the Belfast lot”.
Speaking to The University Times at the event, one of the co-editors, Linda Anderson, said that while she initially admired the idea, she was unsure of how successful it would be due to the funding cuts experienced by many publishing houses in recent years. While she had little expectations of what would happen, after several months of work, the anthology was picked up by New Island Books.
Launched by author Eoin McNamee, New Lines comes over 30 years after its predecessor The Female Line: Northern Irish Women Writers made waves in the Irish literary scene. Published in 1985 by the Northern Ireland Feminist Movement, the book was seen as a pioneering publication for its time. With Northern Ireland in the midst of political upheaval, publishing a book celebrating female voices on such issues was labelled a brave move by many.
Some might say that even now, taking the decision to publish an anthology of purely female writers from Northern Ireland is a bold manoeuvre. Speaking to The University Times, Dan Bolger, Commissioning Editor at New Island Books, refuted this. He had heard of the previous anthology and knew of it as a “big seminal thing”. Even with the passing of time, attitudes to all-female work remain similarly sceptical. He explained that the release of the modern book was “timely”, with projects celebrating women’s writing becoming more mainstream in recent years. Citing Sinéad Gleeson’s successful anthology The Long Gaze Back, which featured short stories from female Irish writers both past and present, as evidence of this, he explained that people are “taking more notice” of female writers.
The idea of forgotten voices receiving more attention was a running theme throughout the night. In his opening address, McNamee recounted the stories of various courageous women that he encountered or heard about throughout his time in Northern Ireland. Referring to the book, he said that it gives a voice to these forgotten women, redeeming their past experiences.
Also speaking at the event, Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado, co-editor of the anthology, said that the book highlights the “vibrancy” and “fiercely talented” female writers of Northern Ireland. The book offers fiction, drama, photography, poetry and essays covering a variety of subject matters and genres. Apart from gripping writing, the book offers a look into how the landscape of Northern Ireland has changed over the last 30 years while also acknowledging the obstacles facing the small country.
The third anthology on female writing from Long Island Books in as many years shows that the hunger for home-grown female talent isn’t going away any time soon.
