Chapter 10 - The Other ‘Northern Renaissance’

Summary

Whether in its pre- or post-Troubles incarnations, the tradition of Northern Irish poetry has been largely male. In the early days of Northern Ireland, women would publish in journals but struggle to achieve publication in book form, as in the case of Barbara Hunter, the co-editor of the influential journal Rann. Poets such as Elizabeth Shane and May Morton reinvigorate the ballad tradition and feminise the landscape then being argued over in largely masculinist terms by John Hewitt and other critical ideologues. The figure of Freda Laughton stands out, publishing one collection and vanishing from print. Her coolly mysterious poems have become emblematic of a mid-century Northern modernist moment that failed to achieve traction. The post-Troubles generation that followed were no less slow to number any women in their ranks, but in restoring these marginalised voices to the record a different picture of Northern Irish poetry in its true diversity is possible.