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Belfast Confetti (1989) and First Language, in Which Textile Techniques Serve Metaphorically As Poetic Techniques

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Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 585 Studies in Language and Culture No. 22 BELFAST TEXTILES ON CIARAN CARSON’S POETICS Jenny Malmqvist Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 585 Studies in Language and Culture No. 22 Linköping University Department of Culture and Communication Linköping 2013 Linköping Studies in Arts and Science x No. 585 At the Faculty of Arts and Science at Linköping University, research and doctoral studies are carried out within broad problem areas. Research is organized in interdisciplinary research environments and doctoral studies mainly in graduate schools. Jointly, they publish the series Linköping Studies in Arts and Science. This thesis comes from the Graduate School in Language and Culture in Europe at the Department of Culture and Communication, Division of Language and Culture. Distributed by: Department of Culture and Communication Division of Language and Culture Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden Jenny Malmqvist Belfast Textiles: On Ciaran Carson’s Poetics Edition 1:1 © Jenny Malmqvist Department of Culture and Communication 2013 ISBN 978-91-7519-555-1 ISSN 0282-9800 ISSN 1403-2570 Cover image: Anneli Lindberg, En formsak. www.svenskakonstnarer.se/galleri/AnneliLindberg By kind permission of the artist. Photographs: Jenny Malmqvist Printed by LiU-Tryck, Linköping 2013 To Mattias, Theodor and Harry Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 585 Studies in Language and Culture No. 22 Malmqvist, Jenny (2013). Belfast Textiles: On Ciaran Carson’s Poetics Diss. Linköping University. Abstract This thesis is a study of the formation and development of Ciaran Carson’s poetics from his debut in the 1970s up to and including his fourth principal collection of poems, First Language, published in 1993. Examining Carson’s recourse to different kinds of rewriting, made manifest as intertextuality and translation, it aims to account for the thematic formulation and formal realization of this poetics. The poetics is elicited from two distinct groups of poems. The first group comprises poems, given in the consecutive volumes The Lost Explorer (1978), The Irish for No (1987), Belfast Confetti (1989) and First Language, in which textile techniques serve metaphorically as poetic techniques. These poems are read as formulating a poetics which is formally realized in a second group of poems in which rewriting is the dominant technique. By examining the textile/textual metaphors, and their gradual reconfiguration, and the different manifestations of rewriting in Carson’s work the thesis seeks to describe and demonstrate some of the main principles and expressions of this poetics and its development over time. The thesis sees rewriting as integral to Carson’s poetic method: Earlier texts are deliberately drawn upon and made a constitutive part of a new poem. To account for the textual relations and their effect on meaning-making perspectives are borrowed from theories of intertextuality, especially intertextuality as conceptualized by Gérard Genette and Laurent Jenny, as well as from contemporary translation studies and poetics. A theoretical framework is also provided by the textile/textual metaphors which are employed as analytical tools. It is argued that rewriting is not an end in itself but an important means for the poet to articulate his views on both aesthetic and historical issues. The thesis relates the practice of rewriting to a prominent concern in Carson’s work: the relation between form and material and how to adequately express the complicated experiences associated with Northern Ireland in poetic form. The thesis contends through detailed analysis of Carson’s strategies of rewriting that his persistent recourse to recycling discloses his attentiveness to his own poetic expression and that his poetics should be seen as both an aesthetics and an ethics – an evolving response along both aesthetic and ethical lines to the complexities of his situation and his role as a poet. Keywords: Irish poetry, Ciaran Carson, poetics, intertextuality, translation Acknowledgements Just as the quilt in Ciaran Carson’s poem “Patchwork” has time and family stitched into it, many people are stitched into this thesis. I am indebted to them all for contributing to its particular making. First and foremost, a very special thanks to my supervisors Lars-Håkan Svensson, Jan Anward and Ann-Sofie Persson, whose enthusiasm and constant encouragement have seen me through the process of writing this thesis. I am very fortunate to have had them as my supervisors and it is because of their unfailing support that this work has been completed. With great patience, Lars-Håkan has guided me through the process from the start and has been very generous with his time and expertise. Janne’s always sharp comments and unswerving belief in me have been truly invaluable, as has his continuous readiness to help and to advise. I greatly value Ann-Sofie’s perceptive and supportive comments, not to mention the hours of fun we have shared discussing Carson’s poetry. A number of people have generously shared ideas, read and advised or helped in various ways. I am indebted to Angelika Linke for stimulating discussions about form. I am very grateful to Gunilla Florby for her thorough reading of an early draft of the thesis and for her constructive criticism. Thank you also to Carin Franzén for helpful advice and for reading one chapter in the final stages of the thesis. Many thanks are due to past and present colleagues within the Graduate School of Language and Culture in Europe for providing such a creative and supportive research environment as well as an open, friendly and stimulating work-place. It has been a privilege from the very start! Special thanks to Maria Lindholm and Ida van der Woude with whom I have shared both the ups and downs of being a doctoral student, and to Charlotte Lundgren for concrete and practical problem solving. My sincere thanks to Eva Carlestål whose support and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies have been invaluable. I would like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Culture and Communication, particularly my colleagues within the subject of English, many of whom I first met as teachers during my undergraduate years. Their enthusiasm and inspired teaching greatly influenced the course of my studies. A special thanks to Margaret Omberg for encouraging me to continue with research at doctoral level. Thanks also to Lars Jämterud and Lars Liljegren for friendliness and practical help when it was most needed. My warmest thanks to Maria Strääf, Lotta Alemyr and Therese Örnberg Berglund for constant support, friendship and innumerable text messages. Maria for our many conversations, concerning everything from common research interests and teaching to ballet, as well as iPhone photography. Lotta for creative projects and for being there. Therese for laughs, talks and a shared interest in popular culture. Thanks to Agnese Grisle for help with administration and for friendly chats. Lars Griberg at the University Library has also been of great assistance. Many thanks to Alan Crozier for proofreading the final manuscript with great care. As part of my doctoral studies I have had the opportunity to spend six months at the Department of English Studies at the University of Durham and I would like to thank the members of the department for making my visit so rewarding. A warm thank you to Stephen Regan for giving graciously of his time to discuss my thesis project during my stay there and for kindly helping me with all the practical issues related to my visit. Thanks are also due to St. Chad’s College for making my time in Durham so nice. My research has benefited greatly from grants: I gratefully acknowledge STINT for financing my research visit to Durham and Knut och Alice Wallenberg Stiftelse for funding the first two years of my doctoral studies. My sincere thanks to Anneli Lindberg for allowing me to reproduce her beautiful artwork, appropriately entitled En formsak, on the cover of my book. Richard Irvine and Rebecca Shea have been kind to provide me with accommodation during my visits to Belfast. Thanks also for stimulating conversations on Belfast literary life and for help in searching for material. My family and friends have been invaluable throughout this process and I cannot express the extent of gratitude to my family and parents-in-law for their continuous support. For always being available for their grandchildren – my deepest thanks to Ulla and Christer. Finally, my greatest debt is to my husband Mattias and our wonderful boys Theo and Harry: You make everything possible! I could not have done this without you! Linköping, August 2013 Jenny Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 11 Previous Research ........................................................................................................ 13 Theoretical Perspectives .............................................................................................. 21 Outline of the Present Study ...................................................................................... 29 2 Exploring: The Insular Celts, The New Estate and The Lost Explorer .......................... 33 The Insular Celts and The New Estate ............................................................................ 40 Rewriting Early Irish Poetry ....................................................................................... 44
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