Giving Shape to the Moment

This is the first book to provide a critical assessment of the work of the Irish author Mary ODonnell. The essays collected here engage with ODonnells writing across multiple genres and explore the themes and preoccupations that have characterized her oeuvre. Alongside her creative work, ODonnells has been a steady and continuing voice for many years within the world of theatre criticism, book reviewing, essay writing, radio broadcasts and cultural commentary. As a writer, ODonnells principal themes include contemporary Irish society, the position of women in Ireland and the role of the artist. Throughout her career, her approach has been unconventional and her work has sometimes presented a challenge to the status quo. The contributors to this volume illuminate ODonnells role as a humanist writer searching for truth at all costs, through the fictive lives of her often unusual characters, and through the emotional range and depth of her poetry.