Languages of the night: minor languages and the literary imagination in twentieth-century Ireland and Europe

198 Pages·2015·1.273 MB·

by  McCrea, Barry;Ó Ríordáin, Séan;Pasolini, Pier Paolo;Proust, Marcel

LANGUAGES OF THE NIGHT
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BARRY MCCREA
Languages of the Night
Minor Languages and the Literary Imagination
in Twentieth-Century Ireland and Europe
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
Copyright © 2015 by Barry McCrea.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part,
including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying
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tion, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. offi ce) or
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Set in Janson Oldstyle and Futura Bold types by Newgen North America.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCrea, Barry, 1974–
Languages of the night : minor languages and the literary imagination in
twentieth-century Ireland and Europe / Barry McCrea.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-18515-7 (hardback)
1. Linguistic minorities—Europe—Cross-cultural studies. 2. Experimental
poetry—20th century—History and criticism—Great Britain. 3. Experimental
poetry—20th century—History and criticism—Europe. I. Title.
P120.L34M337 2015
401'.9—dc23
2014028310
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For
Ronan McCrea
and
Caitríona Ní Dhúill
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Parlavo a un popolo di morti. Morto alloro rifi uto e chiedo oblio.
—Umberto Saba, “Epigrafe”
I spoke to a people who were dead. Dead, I
spurn the laurel and ask oblivion.
(Translation by George Hochfi eld and Leonard Nathan
in Songbook: The Selected Poems of Umberto Saba)
Is í an bán-martra do dhuine, an tan scaras,
as son Dé, re gach rud a charas.
This is white martyrdom to a person: to
renounce everything one loves for God.
—Early Irish Sermon
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction: The Great Silence in Carrowliam Beg 1
one Language of the Dead: The Irish Language
in the Twentieth Century 20
two The Queer Linguistic Utopia of Pier Paolo Pasolini 47
three Seán Ó Ríordáin’s Private Language 74
four The Great Silence in Combray: Proust and Patois 121
Notes 147
Index 171