Irish digital literature

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files
irish_digital_literature.pdf(635.49 KB)
Published Version
Date
2023-01-19
Authors
O'Sullivan, James
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Experimentation is central to the Irish literary tradition, so it is striking to see that many new forms of digital literature remain uncultivated on this island. Where Irish literature has engaged with the digital, it is usually in the form of film-poetry, fragments of text set to video and sound. Other national canons have long progressed to more technically sophisticated genres – literary games, walking simulators, interactive fiction set in immersive virtual worlds – but Irish digital literature remains dominated by the film-poem, and in many respects, seems stagnated. But the situation in Ireland is not entirely bleak: in the figure of Doireann Ní Ghríofa, now a household name after the success of A Ghost in the Throat (2020), Ireland has a high-profile author who has shown a willingness to embrace the digital, something which may encourage further support for multimodal writing among arts practitioners and policymakers. Through its emphasis on Ní Ghríofa’s e-lit works, this chapter explores the past, present, and future of digital literature in Ireland, its major impediments, and possible futures.
Description
Keywords
digital humanities , irish literature , Digital literature , Electronic literature , E-lit , Digital poetry , Digital fiction , Literary games , Film-poetry , Film-poems , Video-poetry , Doireann Ní Ghríofa , Digital humanities , Irish literature
Citation
O'Sullivan, J. (2023) 'Irish digital literature', in Kelleher, M. and O'Sullivan, J. (eds.) Technology in Irish Literature and Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 308-326. doi: 10.1017/9781009182881.020
Copyright
© 2023, Cambridge University Press. This material is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.