Chapter 9 - Relocations: Diaspora, Travel, Migrancy

Summary

This chapter addresses a central dynamic in contemporary Irish culture, the relationship between Ireland and the rest of the world. A long history of emigration has made for a massive global Irish diaspora. These decades have seen the emergence of new critical approaches to the writing and culture of the Irish diaspora in Britain, the United States, and across the world. In addition, a number of Irish writers have spent much of their time writing about places other than Ireland (whether or not they happened to be living there at the time). This chapter takes on two related themes: recent Irish literature’s interest in representing spaces and conditions outside of Ireland, and the relationship between contemporary Irish literature and the global Irish diaspora.