Us & Them: Women Writers' Discourses on Foreignness

Manuela Palacios
Us & Them: Women W i e s’ Discou ses on Fo eignness
Copy igh
This edi ion has been elabo a ed unde he auspices o he esea ch p ojec s “Us and
Them: Discou ses on Fo eignness by I ish and Galician Women W i e s (MICINN
FFI2009-08475/FILO), and “The Animal T ope: An Eco eminis Analysis o
Con empo a y Cul u e in Galicia and I eland” (PGC2018-093545-B-I00, MCIU/AEI/
ERDF, UE) unded by he Spanish Minis e io de Ciencia e Inno ación and he Eu opean
Regional De elopmen Fund o he Eu opean Union.
ISBN
Lo e s oam a ound like o eigne s
Lupe Gómez A o, Azul e es anxei a
Fo Bahi Takkouche
Summa y 1
The book Us & Them: Women W i e s’ Discou ses on Fo eignness ocuses on li e a y
wo ks om he las ou decades o analyse he con ingen na u e o he cons uc ions o
o eignness in I eland and Galicia. On he basis o a ious compa able ci cums ances in
bo h communi ies —mig a ion lows, inc easingly mul icul u al socie ies, cons an
enego ia ions o na ional iden i y, and he g owing isibili y o women in he public
sphe e— his book aces he mul iple ways in which gende is in e wined wi h
o eignness and p esen s con empo a y women w i e s’ new insigh s in o cul u al
di e ence.
Con en s
Acknowledgemen s
Summa y
Discou ses on Fo eignness by I ish and Galician Women W i e s: An In oduc ion
I. The Gen es o Fo eignness
I.1. Us & Them in Con empo a y I ish and Galician Poe y
I.1.1. Mi o Con e sa ions: Ma y O’Donnell’s Massac e o he Bi ds
I.1.2. “Sis e s o a illion pa asi es”: Alba Cid’s A las
I.1.3. Co espondences
I.2. Us & Them in Con empo a y I ish and Galician Sho Fic ion
I.2.1. Englishness in Con empo a y I ish Sho Fic ion
1.2.2. Nomadic Women in Galician Sho Fic ion
I.2.3. Co espondences
I.3. Us & Them in he Con empo a y I ish and Galician No el
I.3.1. “The e is no ‘us’”: E elyn Conlon’s No he Same Sky
I.3.2. Two Fo eigne s Speaking he Same Language: E a Mo eda’s A Veiga é
como un empo dis in o
I.3.3. Co espondences
I.4. Us & Them in Con empo a y I ish and Galician D ama
I.4.1. Keeping he Ba ba ian a Bay: Lo na Shaughnessy’s The Sac i icial Wind
I.4.2. “On ha di e ence is li e g ounded”: Luz Pozo Ga za’s Medea en Co in o
I.4.3. Co espondences
II. Glocal Iden i ies in T ansla ion
III. Mixing Memo y and Desi e: Women W i e s’ Emig a ion and Wande lus
Appendix I (W i e s’ p o iles)
Appendix II (Ques ionnai e)
Re e ences
Index

Acknowledgemen s
The p esen book has been simme ing o some ime, gen ly and slowly, allowing new
eadings, cou ses, con e ences, and esea ch p ojec s o yield hei juices so as o enhance
hei mu ual la ou s. Due c edi o he unding and special encou agemen o u he
his in es iga ion mus be gi en o he Spanish Minis e io de Ciencia e Inno ación and
he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund o he consecu i e p ojec g an s o s udy
con empo a y women’s w i ing in Galicia and I eland om a compa a i e pe spec i e
(HUM2005-04897/FILO; FFI2009-08475/FILO; FFI2012-35872; FEM2015-66937-P;
PGC2018-093545-B-I00). My g a i ude goes especially o my colleagues in he esea ch
uni “Discou se and Iden i y” a he Uni e si y o San iago de Compos ela, sagely led by
Lau a Lojo, o hei un lagging suppo and collabo a ion wi h he ac i i ies o ganized
in he ame o he abo e-men ioned p ojec s. I also wish o hank Bu gha d Bal usch,
edi o o iB oLi , Ibe o-Romance S udies in Li e a u e and T ansla ology, o his
encou agemen , guidance, and in ini e pa ience in he elabo a ion and inal edi ion o his
book. Wi h he membe s —e e y single one o hem— o he esea ch p ojec s
unde aken I lea n he ex emely ul illing p ac ice o ansdisciplina i y, as we aimed o
b ing oge he Galician and I ish s udies, li e a y and cul u al s udies, academic and
c ea i e w i ing, esea ch and social and cul u al ac i ism. Coo dina ing hese p ojec s
has cons i u ed he mos exci ing pa o my uni e si y ca ee and I am mos g a e ul o
my esea ch colleagues o hei de o ion, dependabili y, and wisdom. Fu he mo e,
wo king on con empo a y li e a u e allowed me o make he acquain ance o many w i e s
om I eland and Galicia, o unde s and he challenges hey mus ace, o admi e he
de e mina ion wi h which hey pu sue hei a is ic goals. Ou con e sa ions and
co espondence p oduced some o he mos exquisi e momen s o a ec ion and
in ellec ual enjoymen in my pe sonal and p o essional li e. I hope ou esea ch and, in
pa icula , his book will do jus ice o hei a is ic inqui y.
The ollowing wo chap e s we e published in ea lie e sions, and I wan o ake his
oppo uni y o hank he publishe s and he indi idual edi o s o he publica ions whe e
hey appea ed o hei pe mission o p esen e ised e sions in he p esen book Us &
Them. Chap e I.2.1 “Englishness in Con empo a y I ish Sho Fic ion” is a e ised
e sion o : Manuela Palacios (2012c). “One anO he : Englishness in Con empo a y I ish
Sho Fic ion”. In Jo ge Sacido (ed.). Mode nism, Pos mode nism, and he Sho S o y in
English. Ams e dam & New Yo k: Rodopi, 207-225, which is ep oduced he e wi h he
kind pe mission o Koninklijke BRILL. The single chap e o sec ion II “Glocal Iden i ies
in T ansla ion” is a e ised e sion o : Manuela Palacios (2012). “Glocal Iden i ies in
T ansla ion”, Wo d and Tex . A Jou nal o Li e a y S udies and Linguis ics II: 2 (special
issue “The Place o T ansla ion” gues edi ed by M. Te esa Caneda-Cab e a & Rui
Ca alho Homem), 62-74.
Summa y
The book Us & Them: Women W i e s’ Discou ses on Fo eignness ocuses on li e a y
wo ks om he las ou decades o analyse he con ingen na u e o he cons uc ions o
o eignness in I eland and Galicia. One ecu ing ques ion add essed in his s udy is abou
he easons why, and wi h which consequences, discou ses on o eignness eci cula e
h ough ime. The objec i e is no me ely o del e in o he ep esen a ion o he o eigne
in li e a u e bu o examine he na u e o di e ence: whe he he O he is ecognized o
nega ed.
On he basis o a ious compa able ci cums ances in bo h communi ies —
mig a ion lows, inc easingly mul icul u al socie ies, cons an enego ia ions o na ional
iden i y, and he g owing isibili y o women in he public sphe e— his book aces he
mul iple ways in which gende is in e wined wi h o eignness and p esen s con empo a y
women w i e s’ new insigh s in o cul u al di e ence. The concep o o eignness
unde mines he al eady p oblema ic no ions o I ishness and Galicianness, and in i es us
o conside gende di e ence in a new ligh , hus e ealing he e e changing p ocesses
o iden i y o ma ion. Ra he han o symme ies be ween I eland and Galicia, his book
is a en i e o c ossing lines and discon inui ies be ween bo h li e a y ields, al hough
always wi h he con ic ion ha wha I ish women w i e s ha e o say is ele an o
Galician women w i e s and ice e sa.
I ish w i e s ha e inco po a ed in hei ex s issues o o he ness, displacemen ,
o eignness and spa ial seg ega ion. Fu he mo e, hey ha e been a en i e o he new
con igu a ions o na ional iden i y ha esul om he mig a o y lows, in addi ion o
no ions o hyb idi y and he ensions be ween belonging and aliena ion. Mig an iden i y
is cha ac e ized by pe cep ions o agmen a ion and loss, and os e s a c i ique o
adi ional no ions o he sel . Ano he ema kable ea u e o he I ish li e a y ield is ha
a subs an ial numbe o w i e s ha e chosen o become diaspo ic subjec s hemsel es.
Galician li e a u e, on i s pa , has he no ion o o eignness oo ed in i s canon, as
we can see in Rosalía de Cas o’s “Es anxei a na súa pa ia” [A o eigne in he own
homeland] (Follas no as 1880), a igu a ion o he a is ’s in e nal exile which has been
aken up and adap ed o mode n ci cums ances by many la e w i e s. Fu he mo e,
I eland has become an inspi ing O he o a numbe o w i e s who ecupe a e he Cel ic
imagina y ha has bound Galicia, I eland and o he Cel ic na ions. A socially engaged
app oach o o eignness, howe e , is ha which combines eminis con ic ions wi h he
condemna ion o xenophobia. Mo eo e , as in he case o I ish w i e s, new oppo uni ies
o a el and wo k o s udy ab oad ha e also had an impac on young au ho s who se
hei plo s in o he Eu opean and Ame ican ci ies, hus es ing hei cha ac e s’ p ejudices
abou o eign ways.
Wi h he abo e conce ns abou he no ion o o eignnes in mind, he p esen book engages
in he analysis o he ollowing li e a y wo ks: wo poe y collec ions, The Massac e o
he Bi ds (2020) by Ma y O’Donnell and A las (2019) by Alba Cid; a selec ion o I ish
sho s o ies by Anne De lin, Fiona Ba and Ma y O’Donnell, as well as Galician sho
ic ion by Rosa Anei os, Ánxela G acián and I ia Collado López; wo no els, No he
Same Sky (2013) by E elyn Conlon and A Veiga e a un empo dis in o (2011) by E a
Mo eda; inally, wo d ama ic pieces ha illus a e he e ile hyb idi y o poe y and
d ama: The Sac i icial Wind (2016) by Lo na Shaughnessy and Medea en Co in o (2003)
by Luz Pozo Ga za. T ansla ion and i s nego ia ions o sel and O he cons i u e he ocus
o one addi ional chap e . The book ends wi h a chap e ha discusses I ish and Galician
women w i e s’ accoun s o hei a els and hei e lec ions upon he encoun e wi h
o he ness.
Discou ses on Fo eignness by I ish and Galician Women W i e s: An In oduc ion
Iden i y can be unde s ood as a no ion ha ope a es dialec ically in connec ion wi h
o he ness. In his sense, one may a i m ha he e is no us wi hou hem, ha is o say, us
is dependen on and cons ued in e ms o hem. Fu he mo e, iden i y o en unc ions as
a c i e ion o inclusion and exclusion: he inclusion o hose who sha e a numbe o
ea u es, and he exclusion o hose who di e o a e O he s (Bello Regue a 2007: 9).1
Howe e , nei he iden i y no di e ence a e ixed and e e las ing bu cons an ly
ans o med and enego ia ed acco ding o changing ci cums ances and in e es s. In his
espec , Edwa d Said has sugges ed ha “each age and socie y ec ea es i s O he s” (1995:
332). Fo his eason, he p esen book will ocus on li e a y wo ks om he las ou
decades o analyse he con ingen na u e o he cons uc ions o o eignness in I eland and
Galicia. Ra he han unde s anding us and hem as a bina y opposi ion o wo dis inc ,
p e-exis ing en i ies, his book will explo e hei a ious ela ionships — hem wi hin us,
as in Julia K is e a’s sugges ion ha “ he o eigne li es wi hin us” (1991: 1), hem beside
us, as in E e Koso sky Sedgwick’s poe ics o p opinqui y (2003)—, as well as he
in e s i ial space o dialogue be ween us and hem, as “[ ]esponding ul ima ely akes place
in an in-be ween-sphe e” (emphasis in he o iginal, Leis le 2017: 13). In o de o
acknowledge he exis ence o a adical o he ness ha he sel canno app op ia e, he
no ion o esponsi i y will be conduci e o unde s anding he O he as he en i y ha he
sel esponds o, he eby eluding “ he g asp o he sel which ne e heless is cons i u ed
in he ac o esponding” (Leis le 2017: 12).
Al hough he o eigne is o en seen as a mani es a ion o o he ness, a
des abilizing o ce and a menace o na ional iden i y, Bonnie Honig main ains ha
na ions ac ually need he igu e o he s ange , especially in imes o c isis (2001: 4).
Following Honig’s iew ha o eignness should no be seen nega i ely as a p oblem bu ,
al e na i ely, as a solu ion ha social egimes ha e had ecou se o in si ua ions o
con lic , his book will add ess one o Honig’s cen al ques ions: “Wha p oblems does
o eignness sol e o us?” (ibid.: 4). The conce n he e is no me ely wi h he
ep esen a ion o con igu a ion o he o eigne in li e a u e, bu wi h he na u e o
di e ence: whe he he O he is ecognized o nega ed. This has impo an social
consequences because, as Ge a d Delan y has obse ed, i en ails a choice be ween
di e si y and xenophobia (1995: 5). Indeed, in his discussion o Emmanuel Lé inas’
inqui y abou he na u e o e il, Alain Toumayan u ges o a econside a ion o bo h he
subjec and he O he in o de o con on he mo al, in ellec ual, cul u al and s uc u al
ailu es ha cause e il (2007: 235-236). O pa icula in e es o his s udy is Anna
T ianda yllidou’s p oposal ha we ake in o conside a ion hose “inspi ing O he s” wi h
which pa icula social g oups main ain a posi i e appo (2002: 34). The cul u al
connec ions be ween I eland and Galicia illus a e T ianda yllidou’s hesis, since, du ing
pa o he nine een h and wen ie h cen u ies, Galicia saw in I eland an inspi ing O he ,
1 Fo he unde s anding o O he and o he ness, I will ollow bo h he spelling and meanings p o ided by
Be nha d Leis le: “‛O he ’ has been capi alized when i is mean in he sense o an abs ac noun,
designa ing e e y hing ha is non-sel , bu s ands in ela ion o he sel ” ( iii). As o he e m o he ness,
i s “abs ac cha ac e is exp essed in i s o m, by he su ix ‛-ness,’ and he e o e doesn’ ha e o be
highligh ed by a i icial means” (2017: iii).
in o con empo a y emale playw igh s’ ew i ing o pa ia chal my hs is bound o expose
gende s e eo ypes and disman le deep- oo ed s uc u es o domina ion.
Pa II consis s o he single chap e “Glocal Iden i ies in T ansla ion” in which
he ask o ansla ion is p esen ed as an auspicious ac i i y o ackle misguided anxie ies
abou homogenizing globaliza ion and isola ionis na ionalism. A en ion will be paid o
mino i ized languages in Eu ope, as is he case wi h I ish and Galician, and he ole ha
English can possibly play in he dissemina ion o hei espec i e cul u al p oduc ions.
The ensions be ween he local and he o eign, be ween us and hem, will be app oached
h ough ansla ional p ac ices such as collabo a ion, ecip oci y, hyb idi y and he ange
o iable nego ia ions be ween ela i e di e ences.
Pa III consis s o he chap e , “Mixing Memo y and Desi e: Women W i e s’
Emig a ion and Wande lus ” and wo appendices ha complemen i . I ish and Galician
women w i e s li e and wo k in p o oundly nomadic socie ies o he ex en ha mig a ion
is o en seen as a na u al p ocess, a he han a social phenomenon. Al hough emig a ion
and exile, due o hos ile economic and poli ical condi ions, could lead us o hink ha
hese w i e s migh ha e a s ained ela ionship wi h he expe ience o a el, a gende -
awa e analysis e eals he libe a ing po en ial ha a elling may ha e o women. I ha e
passed, o a selec ion o women w i e s, a se o ques ions ega ding hei iews on he
his o y o mig a ion and exile in hei amilies and on he ways his expe ience has ma ked
hem bo h on a pe sonal and p o essional le el. I ha e also asked hem abou he a el
oppo uni ies hey ha e enjoyed, he impac o hese jou neys on hei w i ing, hei
collabo a ions wi h o eign a is s and he ins i u ions which ha e a ou ed his app oach
o o he cul u es. Th ough hei answe s, we can ace he a ious emig a ion wa es o
he wen ie h cen u y and he ole played by women in hese displacemen s. Al hough
poli ical exile is p edominan ly gende ed as male, hese accoun s e ince he pain ul ways
in which women ha e nego ia ed he aboo a ound i . The unsa ou y memo ies o
emig a ion ha e no de e ed hese women w i e s om a elling o om gi ing ee
exp ession o hei wande lus in sea ch o al e na i e iden i ies. Appendix I p o ides
b ie p o essional p o iles o he pa icipa ing w i e s, and Appendix II con ains he
ques ionnai e abou mig a ion, a el and he encoun e wi h o eignness ha was sen o
he w i e s.

I. The Gen es o Fo eignness
a s ange in my own his o y
in my own landscape
in my own language
Chus Pa o, Fascinio
I.1. Us & Them in Con empo a y I ish and Galician Poe y
I.1.1. Mi o Con e sa ions: Ma y O’Donnell’s Massac e o he Bi ds
Ma y O’Donnell (1954) is a poe , ic ion and essay w i e who has au ho ed, o da e, eigh
poe y books, ou no els, h ee collec ions o sho s o ies and a good numbe o
collabo a i e wo ks in all gen es, as well as a wide a ie y o essays he scope o which
anges om hea e and isual a s c i icism o e lec ions on he con empo a y s a e o
cul u e in I eland and beyond (Jaime de Pablos 2018). He w i ing has been conce ned
wi h he iolence o he T oubles in No he n I eland, B i ish colonialism, sexual
libe a ion, I ishness, mul icul u alism and en i onmen al deg ada ion among many o he
issues o pa amoun impo ance o I ish and Wes e n socie ies oday. This chap e will
examine he ende ing o he ensions be ween us and hem in he mos ecen poe y book
Massac e o he Bi ds (2020), a collec ion ha “success ully cha s he ull spec um o
emale expe ience” (Wells 2020) and compellingly inqui es in o a el, o ced mig a ion
and ecological ulne abili y. Al hough many o hese conce ns a e in e wined, he main
ocus in his analysis will be on he di e se con igu a ions o o eignness in his book and,
in pa icula , on he expe ience o a elling, mig a ing and p esen -day pe cep ions o
o eign cul u es.
Glocal En i onmen s
Massac e o he Bi ds ponde s global and local — hus he po man eau wo d glocal—
dange s o ou en i onmen and mo e- han-human li e, as he i le o he collec ion and a
good numbe o poems in i clea ly e ince.4 The global scope o his menace may ende
insigni ican he di e ence be ween he e and he e o be ween us and hem. The poem
“Agains he Vanishing” illus a es he wo ldwide wo y abou he anishing species o
animals in bo h he No he n and he Sou he n hemisphe es and, al hough inhabi an s o
e y speci ic places migh be a en i e only o local loss o li e di e si y, he poe ic
pe sona o he poem adop s a comp ehensi e app oach by ca e ully wa ching and
lis ening o hose nea he in I eland bu also conju ing up simila conce ns in o he
la i udes.
“Agains he Vanishing” is di ided in o ou pa s o e se w i en in ela i ely
sho lines and s anzas ha make he poem’s s a emen mo e incisi e. F om he e y
beginning o Pa 1, he poe ic pe sona deploys he dual app oach o he e and he e, us
and hem, al hough his is no mean as an aliena ing con as bu as an inclusi e
pa allelism, since bo h places and hei people wi ness he simila phenomenon o li e
di e si y loss: “On he lakesho e / o conscience I s and. / God help me. // Ce ain ha in
A gen ina, / a woman also s ands, / na u e-s uck” (14).5 The “I” and he “she” in he
poem a e no simply b ough oge he by ad e bs like “also”, “ oo”, “as much as” o by
4 “Glocal” has been de ined as he ecip ocal low o agencies be ween he global and he local (Ashc o
& G i i hs & Ti in 2007: 104).
5 All quo a ions om Ma y O’Donnell’s Massac e o he Bi ds a e aken, he ea e , om he Salmon Poe y
2020 edi ion and only page numbe s a e p o ided.
specula mo i s —“a mi o con e sa ion umbles on / hough s eplica e like pock-
ma ks”— (15) along wi h he pa allelis ic s uc u e ha al e na es s anzas conce ned wi h
each o hese wo women and each o hese wo coun ies and ecosys ems, bu also by he
amiable appella ion o he o he woman as “My unknown companion” (14), “my
unknown woman iend” (15). The gende a ini y be ween he I ish speake and he
A gen inian woman should no go unno iced, al hough such sympa hy does no make he
emale obse e s di e en om o he male wi nesses o en i onmen al deg ada ion: “[…]
wo local men cha / abou he swallows. / ‘No so many h’yea ,’/ one ema ks, hen bi es
in o a sandwich” (14-15); hei coun e pa , he A gen inian woman, also poses he
ques ions abou he loss o animal li e, while she ea s and d inks, e y much like he
I ishmen do, a beha iou al pa e n which ein o ces he analogy in he daily, puzzled
eac ions o he endange ed local ecosys ems:
Wha happened o he chinchilla,
he a madillo, gian o e ?
And who las hea d o any jagua s?
She bi es in o an oli e,
sips he wine, eminds he sel
o go again omo ow o he lake. (Emphasis in he o iginal, 15)
Male beha iou , howe e , is mo dan ly censu ed in he e e ence o hun ing: “See he
whi e playboys // pose wi h i les o e zeb a, elephan ” (16). This p ac ice o hun ing is
ob iously no limi ed o I eland and A gen ina, as he poem makes explici : “A gen ina
as much as I eland, // Canada as much as F ance o I aly, / whe e e bi ds a e sho and
ea he s sca e ” (16). O he poems in he same collec ion will emphasize he male- emale
di ide in hei denuncia ion o men’s b u ali y agains women’s bodies, as happens in he
poem “I Wasn’ a Woman”, which p o ides a ha owing ca alogue o iolen ac s agains
women and child en in I eland and a ound he wo ld. The di e ence be ween us and hem,
be ween women/child en/animals on he one hand and men on he o he , is decidedly
bu essed in O’Donnell’s poe y o he iden i ica ion and indic men o iolen
hie a chies. Fo a poe y collec ion like Massac e o he Bi ds, which sc u inizes he
wo kings o iolence agains he en i onmen , women and he many O he s o he plane
Ea h, he in e sec ionali y in he modes o opp ession —an impo an ocus o esea ch
o eco eminism, as in Ca ol J. Adams’ in luen ial book The Sexual Poli ics o Mea
(1990)— is especially ele an . Ne e heless, he e a e in his collec ion some signi ican
examples o lo ing, ca ing and mu ually suppo i e ela ions ac oss he gende
dis inc ion, pa icula ly be ween wi e and husband o daugh e and a he in poems such
as “On Reading My Mo he ’s So ow Dia y” and “New Yea ’s E e, 1958”.
To he di e si y o cha ac e s and places in he poem “Agains he Vanishing” —
I, she, male, emale, human and nonhuman animal, I eland, A gen ina, Canada, F ance,
I aly— one mus add he e e ence o a na ional g oup, Poles — he la ges non-I ish
popula ion g oup in I eland acco ding o he 2016 census o he CSO—: “He e, Polish
amilies picnic la e / wi h child en and a shaggy puppy. / Thei oices echo, g oup o
g oup” (14). Al hough he poem acknowledges he p esen -day mul icul u alis make-up
o I ish socie y, i does no seem o include hese Polish amilies in he common conce n
abou he en i onmen , since hey a e p esen ed as simply enjoying an e ening by he
lakesho e and in e ac ing sel -su icien ly among hemsel es. Fu he mo e, hei
p esen a ion is ollowed by he con as wi h “ wo local men”. This could be an illus a ion
o he pa adoxes o mul icul u alism, a phenomenon ha di e si ies socie y bu is no
an amoun o in eg a ion. Al hough hese Polish amilies sha e he same space as he
poe ic pe sona, hey a e no cons ued as sha ing he same en i onmen al conce n and
e en he e e ence o hei na ional iden i y seems o se hem apa . In his espec , Julia
K is e a says abou he o eigne ’s appa en aloo ness: “[…] his being kep apa
co esponds o his emaining aloo , as he pulls back in o he painless co e o wha is called
a soul […]” (1991: 7).
Asylum Seeking
The in low o mig an s in Eu ope and, in pa icula , in I eland, which has esul ed om
he I ish economic boom du ing he Cel ic Tige pe iod in he 1990s and, mo e ecen ly,
om he wa in Sy ia and o he in e na ional con lic s, has conside ably changed he
popula ion make-up o I eland. A coun y ha used o be, especially since he amines in
he middle o he nine een h cen u y, he depa u e poin o massi e lows o emig a ion,
has, o ecen imes, conside ably diminished he ou low and expe ienced a signi ican
con a y in low o people om o he Eu opean coun ies and beyond. The collec ion
Massac e o he Bi ds, a en i e as i is o he main on-going social changes in I ish
socie y, also del es in o he phenomenon o immig a ion and i s concomi an
p edicamen s, such as he Di ec P o ision sys em ha has shaken he conscience o many
ac i is s, in ellec uals and a is s in I eland. RIA ( he Recep ion and In eg a ion Agency
o he I ish go e nmen ) de ines Di ec P o ision as “a means o mee ing he basic needs
o ood and shel e o asylum seeke s di ec ly while hei claims o e ugee s a us a e
being p ocessed” (2010). A i s -pe son es imony o li e in hese shel e s has been
p o ided by he w i e Mela u-Uche Oko ie in he book o sho s o ies This Hos el Li e
(2018), in which she desc ibes he sys em as an abusi e ela ionship.
Ma y O’Donnell also con on s his issue in “Di ec P o ision and he Old
Ag icul u al College Ghos s”, a poem which consis s o h ee s anzas o o mal
i egula i y in wha conce ns he numbe o lines pe s anza, syllables pe line and he
absence o hyming pa e ns, as i he subjec ma e i sel esis ed all a emp s a ha mony
o p opo ion. The i s s anza e e s o an encoun e , on he oad, be ween he speake
and he e ugee child en on he la e ’s way o school. Al hough he poem does no s a
wi h he I / hem dis inc ion, bu wi h a communal “we” —“We mee on he s e ch
be ween wo c oss oads” (24)—, di e ence immedia ely makes i sel e iden in he
e e ence o bodily ea u es —“da k-hai ed schoolchild en” (24). This encoun e wi h a
di e en body ecalls Julia K is e a’s ema k ha “[a] i s , one is s uck by his
peculia i y — hose eyes, hose lips, hose cheek bones, ha skin unlike o he s, all ha
dis inguishes him and eminds one ha he e is someone he e” (emphasis in he o iginal,
1991: 3). The speaking I ha dly d aws a en ion o he sel and mainly egis e s wha she
sees, hea s and emembe s abou he place. The di icul li e condi ions o hese asylum
seeke s in I eland a e no de lec ed: “ h ee miles away, hei amilies bunked up / in he
old ag icul u al college” (24). E e y chosen wo d has i s signi icance o he c i ique o
he Di ec P o ision sys em: he long dis ances o be walked by he child en and he
c ammed and inadequa e places ha should unc ion as shel e s. The second s anza
e idences he subs an ial social changes in I eland, as a building which was o iginally
designed o animal a ming becomes a shel e o e ugees —once again he
animaliza ion o he O he canno go unno iced he e— as he speake conju es pas scenes
om he ag icul u al school: “ o a clang o eeding bucke s, disin ec an smells, / he
sc ape o sho els / in he dung-lumped by es.” (24). Tha asylum seeke s should be lodged
in wha used o be by es o ca le no only speaks o a de ini ely bygone u al I eland ha
is now jus a ghos ly p esence —“spi i s loi e ”, “a ghos ly blea ing” (24)— bu also o a
symbolic dehumaniza ion o he e ugees. The poem inishes wi h a hi d s anza ha
shows he e ugees’ endu ing a achmen s o hei o me na ional iden i ies —“ he hud
o a oo ball as boys play / o homelands: Albania, Moldo a, / Nige ia, […]” (24)— as
an ac o esis ance agains bo h hei animaliza ion —“ o silence a ghos ly blea ing and
lowing a dawn” (24) and hei in isibiliza ion: “as hey hemsel es become in isible.”
(24).
Two poems in Massac e o he Bi ds ackle he speci ic p edicamen o Sy ian
e ugees in Sweden and al hough he ho o o he Sy ian wa is he ineluc able backd op
o he poems, he e a leas hey ha e he possibili y o s a ing a new li e. The ela i e
op imism o hese poems may be jus i ied by he con as be ween he wa le behind and
he peace ul a mosphe e o he Swedish owns, bu i may also be due o he s ange ’s
decep i ely benign pe cep ion o he e ugees’ eal ci cums ances in Sweden. The poem
“Message om Malmö” is one compac eigh een-line s anza ha omi s any e e ence o
he poe ic pe sona and ocuses exclusi ely on he e ugees: “The women wea sadness in
hei eyes” (23), “ he husbands a e cloaked in de iance, / despe a ion; and he young men,
also / de ian , wea in isible unde ga men s / ha spa kle wi h hope” (23). The a i udes
p esen ed along gende and gene a ion lines —women’s sadness, husbands’ de iance,
young men’s de iance and hope— may ha e hei explana ion in he igid gende oles o
he socie y o o igin, whe e husbands a e expec ed o s uggle so as o p o ide o hei
amilies, bu such ep esen a ions may o e look women’s de e mined endea ou s, a lapse
ha , acco ding o B eda G ay (2004: 1) and X. Amancio Liña es Gi au (2009: 11), is oo
common in s udies o women’s mig a ions. Fu he mo e, he male de iance poin ed ou
in his poem can be unde s ood in he ligh o Julia K is e a’s obse a ion abou he
o eigne ’s eac ion o pe cei ed ha ed:
“Expe iencing ha ed”: ha is he way he o eigne o en exp esses his li e
[…] Cons an ly eeling he ha ed o o he s, knowing no o he en i onmen
han ha o ha ed. […]. Ha ed makes him eal, au hen ic so o speak, solid,
o simply exis ing. E en mo e so, i causes o esound on he ou side ha o he
ha ed, sec e and shame ul, apologe ic o he poin o aba ing, ha he
o eigne bea s wi hin himsel agains e e yone, agains no one, and which, in
he case o looding, would cause a se ious dep ession. (Emphasis in he
o iginal, 1991: 13)
The absence o he “I” in “Message om Malmö” and he obse e ’s dis ance om he
ac ual place, as implied in he wo d “message” in he i le, cen e all he a en ion on he
e ugees bu may also accen ua e hei o he ness h ough he epea ed use o “ hey”, e en
i he poem engages wi h hei o deal and empa he ically cons ues hei in en : “p epa ing
o mend he g ea o n blanke / ha was once hei amily, now / le behind in he dus ”
(23). The obse e ’s de achmen seems ques ionable because, as Be nha d Leis le
a i ms, “ he ep esen ing sel is no in ull con ol o wha i p oduces” (2017: 8) and
emaining dis an om he O he ’s s anda ds, as well as om ou own, is an illusion (ibid.:
3). A simila de achmen is ound in he poem “The Li le Wa es, like Judgemen s” abou

Sy ian amilies being eloca ed in he own o Visby on he Swedish island o Go land. I
is again a one-s anza poem, his ime wi h wen y lines, and i s page aces ha o
“Message om Malmö” as in a mi o . Besides he same dis an , hough Eu opean,
se ing, he e is a simila ly inconspicuous speake , as he poem ocuses on hem: he
e ugees om Sy ia. The poem exudes con idence and op imism ega ding he e ugees’
capaci y o s a a new li e in his place, which is p esen ed as welcoming and sa e o
adul s and child en alike. In con as wi h he inadequa e accommoda ion p o ided in
I eland, as p e iously seen in he poem “Di ec P o ision and he Old Ag icul u al
College Ghos s”, Sweden lodges hese e ugees in “holiday chale s”, and hey can walk
he sea on wi h digni y and do hei shopping, while hei child en, who epi omize he
hopes o he u u e, play un oubled. As opposed o he pa ne poem abou he e ugees
in Malmö, he e a e no sad o de ian a i udes he e on he pa o he immig an s; on he
con a y, “ hey come unma ked” (22) which, al hough highly implausible, may hin a an
obse e ’s su p ise a he mig an s’ ex ao dina y capaci y o eco e y a e he auma ic
escape om wa . Sweden has ce ainly been among he mos hospi able coun ies in
Eu ope o Sy ian e ugees, bu acco ding o Ke ie Holloway, Diego Fau ès and Amy
Leach (2022) such mig an in low has aised conce ns abou sa e y among he na i e
popula ion and has inc eased nega i e public na a i es on e ugees. The eliabili y o he
speake ’s posi i e pe cep ion o he e ugees’ in eg a ion in O’Donnell’s poem is
ques ionable, bu i is p ecisely he speake ’s absence, o a leas he lack o an explici I
in he poem, ha makes he scene seem like a ac ual accoun . Only a he e y end o he
poem does he speake make he p esence explici h ough a collec i e “us” and, only
hen, does a mo e c i ical a i ude come up: “A whole sea like a judgemen on us” (22).
The poem ends wi h his open in e oga ion abou ou sha ed esponsibili y in he
mig an s’ p edicamen , he eby in e wining ou accoun abili y wi h hei des iny. In
connec ion wi h his, Julia K is e a calls ou a en ion o h ee un o una e esponses in
one’s encoun e wi h he o eigne : “[…] ama eu p oxeni know i unconsciously as hey
choose o eign pa ne s on whom o in lic he o u e o hei own con emp , hei
condescension, o , mo e decei ully, hei hea y-handed cha i y” (emphasis in he
o iginal, 1991: 6).
Sex T a icking
Ano he pai o poems, also p esen ed on acing pages, del e in o he sexual exploi a ion
o he o eign woman, ei he in Eu ope o in he own coun y. “Remembe ing
Ams e dam” was i s published as a esponse poem o he Galician poe Ma ía do
Ceb ei o’s “O ba io das chinesas” in he an hology Mig an Sho es. I ish, Mo occan and
Galician Poe y (Palacios 2017a: 123), a collec ion wi h a special ocus on mig an
women’s ci cums ances. The poem consis s o se en s anzas o i egula leng h in ee
e se, as is common in O’Donnell’s poe y, and he se ing is he ed-ligh dis ic in
Ams e dam ci y cen e —a no o ious pole o ou is a ac ion because o he public
exhibi ion o p os i u es in b o hel windows. The poe ic pe sona i onically e e s o he
es i e and luminous a mosphe e on he canal s ee s and i s con as wi h he so didness
back home: “compa ed o he Dublin canals, whe e women slope, / los cu s in he da k”
(67). The openness o p os i u ion in Ams e dam also di e s os en a iously om he
u i eness abou i in I eland: “i ’s 1987, we ha e no seen he like” (67). The speake ,
clea ly iden i ied as emale, seems o yield o he sexual and spec acula allu e o he
place and he p os i u es: “My eyes oo, mesme ised by magic, / co e ing i . […]”
(emphasis in he o iginal, 67). The exhibi ed women a e objec i ied and animalized o
he spec a o s’ consump ion:
They ecline in gi -boxes
wi hin a hea e o ligh as ou eyes
a el hei lesh, explo e s acking
he blood-pinked belly o golden an elope,
hoo es s iking spa ks. (67)
P esen ed as objec s o gi o be o e ed o passe s-by and exposed h ough seduc i e
echniques o spec acula iza ion, hese women o all aces —“Dusky skin, whi e skin”
(67)— a e also animalized by means o hun ing image y in he con ex o he explo a ion
and coloniza ion o a , exo ic places. The emale bodies a e compa ed o he lesh o he
an elope chased by explo e s o dis an lands ollowing he well-known colonial pa e n
o disco e y o new e i o ies and exploi a ion o i s esou ces and inhabi an s. The link
be ween coloniza ion and he animaliza ion o he colonized was highligh ed by F anz
Fanon, who iden i ied he aming o un uly na u e as one o he objec i es o coloniza ion:
“A hos ile, ungo e nable, and undamen ally ebellious Na u e is in ac synonymous in
he colonies wi h he bush, he mosqui oes, he na i es, and disease. Coloniza ion has
succeeded once his un amed Na u e has been b ough unde con ol” (2004: 182).
Concomi an wi h he colonizing p ojec was he exhibi ion o na i es and animals om
he colonies in Eu opean ou s ha , on emo ing humans and animals om hei o iginal
se ing, made hem appea as less menacing:
The key poin he e, howe e , is made by Rena e Wasse man ha , “Indians
exhibi ed a Royal cou s o u keys and pa o s in cages” could be seen as
“innocen signi ie s” o an exo ic o he , one ha could i illa e he Eu opean
public imagina ion while o e ing no h ea since such exo ics we e, in he
e ms, “non-sys ema ic” (1984: 132). Isola ed om hei own geog aphical
and cul u al con ex s, hey ep esen ed wha e e was p ojec ed on o hem by
he socie ies in o which hey we e in oduced. Exo ics in he me opoles we e
a signi ican pa o impe ial displays o powe and he pleni ude o empi es.
(Ashc o & G i i hs & Ti in 2007: 88).
Apa om i s i onic one and he inculpa ing use o animal image y h oughou he poem,
“Remembe ing Ams e dam” inishes wi h he impac o a di ec encoun e be ween he
obse e and he obse ed hough hei ecip ocal gaze and i is his mee ing o eyes ha
p oduces an epiphanic momen o iden i ica ion: “I know hen I am no di e en , / no wi e,
Weib, o ï . Since hen, / I some imes climb in o a special gi -box, / in solida i y wi h
he woman, / who s ill mee s my gaze” (67). This empa he ic iden i ica ion o he poe ic
pe sona wi h he p os i u e hough hei gaze is one o he mos signi ican encoun e s
be ween us and hem in O’Donnell’s poe y.
The poem on he acing page is “Those P os i u es in Cuba” and consis s o i e
h ee-line s anzas ha con as in hei succinc ness wi h he mo e de ailed “Remembe ing
Ams e dam”. The cha ac e s in ol ed in “Those P os i u es in Cuba” a e a emale poe ic
pe sona, a man who ecoun s his expe ience wi h wo p os i u es in Cuba, and he
p os i u es hemsel es. The only cha ac e s wi h a oice a e he Eu opean cha ac e s
( emale speake and male clien ), while he p os i u es hemsel es a e ende ed silen .
Apa om he I ish / Cuba di ide, which en ails a gla ing economic imbalance be ween
he a luen Eu opean ou is s and he impo e ished Cuban women, especially a e he
economic dep ession ollowing he dissolu ion o he So ie Union in he ea ly 1990s,
he e is a gende di ide ha is he main ocus o he poem. As he man boas s abou his
sexual ad en u e wi h wo young women — hei age o e hnici y a e no speci ied— he
emale speake exp esses —no wi hou some sense o guil : “I hough ‒agains my own
sex‒ […]” (66)— he cons e na ion o e he impossibili y, o a woman he age, o li e
such a sexual expe ience wi h he same eedom and unaccoun abili y. The women a e,
once again, animalized in he man’s accoun : “They we e like wo ki ens, he said, /
snuggling up o him / hey we e un and hey liked him” (66). The e m “ki en”, which
e e s o a e y young ca , sugges s ha he p os i u es may be mino s, o a leas he boas s
abou hei you h, so he age di ide be ween clien and p os i u es is implied in his
commen and is ema ked upon by he emale speake : “[…] admi ing / hei heal h, hei
s ong ee h, ha / i ali y […]” (66). The gende di ide is hen made e iden : “[…] I
could ne e happen // o a woman my age, wo ige men / who would no wound, he
h ee o us / so human in a dusky oom […]” (66). We again ind he animaliza ion o he
male gigolos, bu he di e ence in he image y is bla an : young emales like ki ens and
adul men like ige s. As eade s, we a e le ponde ing hese wo sexual an asies and he
powe ela ions in which hey a e insc ibed: economically a luen Eu ope s.
impo e ished Cuba; eal male sex cus ome wi h young, a ec iona e emale p os i u es
s. imagined and unlikely emale sex cus ome wi h igo ous male gigolos; speaking
Eu opean sex cus ome s s. silenced p os i u es. Nei he he man no he woman speaks
abou paymen , since ha would emo e he i illa ion. The e is no conside a ion in he
poem abou he causes and consequences o sexual ou ism and no e hical conce n wi h
p os i u ion as a ype o mode n-day sla e y. Ac ually, he aboli ionis app oach o
p os i u ion insis s on he need o ake in o accoun he economic, e hnic and gende
asymme ies ha make sexual consen a allacious c i e ion (Velasco Sesma 2017: 277).
Wha he poem does del e in o is he gende and age imbalance in he capaci y o pe o m
one’s sexual an asies, a gende i in sexual and sen imen al educa ion wi h a long
pa ia chal his o y in I eland and elsewhe e.
Women’s Double Coloniza ion
Massac e o he Bi ds con ains, in he middle o he collec ion, a numbe o poems om
an o e eminis s andpoin in which O’Donnell examines he a ious disc imina ions
and agg essions, whe he physical, psychological o social, agains women a ound he
wo ld. “Twen y Inches o Hai ”, in pa icula , is a poem ha ocuses on he ci cums ances
o women in he Indian subcon inen , whe e local pa ia chal opp ession is u he
complica ed wi h neo-colonialis p ac ices ha ende Indian women’s bodies in he
se ice o Eu opean women’s ashions. Pos -colonial analysis has long iden i ied his
double coloniza ion o women bo h by he pa ia chal o ces o hei own communi y and
by Wes e n colonial powe s (Hols -Pe e sen & Ru he o d 1985). O’Donnell’s poem
exposes he husband’s a gumen s o sell his wi e’s hai o Eu opean women’s hai
ex ensions: “This is wha a wi e does; / o he child en, o he keep, besides, / wi es a e
expensi e. Wi h such hai , / o he men will desi e he ” (30). Economic necessi y, bu also
male sexual jealousy, add o he subal e ni y o his Indian woman who, as i illus a ing
Gaya i Spi ak’s essay “Can he Subal e n Speak?” (1985b) emains silenced h oughou
he poem.6 Only an animal seems o speak o he : “a peacock c ies eeeiu, eeeiu” (31) he
way he nigh ingale c ies in T.S. Elio ’s ew i ing o O id’s iolen ly silenced Philomel
in The Was e Land (1922). The igu a i e animaliza ion o he Indian woman, e enly
dis ibu ed along he i e i egula s anzas, ein o ces he subjuga ion: he sha ed head
ends up looking like “a peacock’s egg” (30), he sac ed se pen —he po en ial sou ce o
di ine ene gy— emains le ha gic: “Bu he Kundalini, / cu led wi hin i s chill o po e y,
/ […]” (30) and wo dead pigeons o be cooked a e wha she ge s in exchange o he hai :
He husband e u ns, swings wo g een pigeons
om his inge s. Today’s mea , he mu mu s,
a oiding he eye, places hem,
cu l-clawed, beaks oozing,
in he bowl ha held he hai . (30)
The us-and- hem di ide in his poem ini ially en ails wo opposi ions ha ac as iolen
hie a chies: he male/ emale and he Eu opean/Indian bina ies. Howe e , hese
coun e pa pa e ns des abilize each o he by making Indian men and Eu opean women
he opp esso s o he Indian emale p o agonis : “ o he pleasu e o a woman wi h blue
eyes” (30). This shows he impo ance o p oblema izing bina y opposi ions h ough an
in e sec ional analysis ha c iss-c osses gende and colonial conside a ions, apa om
including class and economic ulne abili y.
Religious O he ness
The o he ness o he o eigne is also a cen al aspec o he poem “The Blackbi d, God
Almigh y, and Allah”, which includes, a e he i le, a b acke ed dedica ion wi h a
esolu e denuncia ion: “(Remembe ing he dead child en o Sy ia, mu de ed by Basha al
Assad)” (25). The poem is a celeb a ion o na u e and an indic men o iolence and
eligious ana icism. The dedica ion, howe e , is puzzling because he Sy ian p esiden ’s
dic a o ial egime has ne e s ood o Islamic undamen alism and, oge he wi h
in e na ional allies, has been igh ing he Islamic S a e in I aq and Sy ia. Could his
amalgam o Al Assad / wa / Islamic undamen alism / Qu’ an be a signal o ou Wes e n
askew pe cep ion o he O he ? The i le has h ee main mo i s, he blackbi d —a
pe asi e symbol in I ish poe y— God and Allah, he di e ence be ween he las wo in
he poem some imes jus hin ing a a iance in eligious pe suasions: “You hold o h like
God Almigh y, / o Allah, […]” (25), “Do no bless me, God o Allah” (25). This
con aposi ion o eligiosi y and pagan na u e ecalls he amous poem “The Blackbi d o
De ycai n” by he I ish poe Aus in Cla ke (1974), who based his ex on ano he
eigh een h-cen u y Ossianic lay in Gaelic, bo h poems ep o ing he asce icism o he
Ch is ian eligion and celeb a ing he joys o na u e. O’Donnell, he e o e, adds Islam o
he con as be ween eligious zeal and he hedonism o na u e:
6 The “subal e n” is a e m de i ed om he w i ings o he I alian Ma xis An onio G amsci and usually
e e s o non-eli e o subo dina ed social g oups. The Subal e n S udies collec i e o his o ians in India
bo owed his e m o e e o he Indian non-eli e. In “Can he Subal e n Speak? Specula ions on Widow
Sac i ice” (1985b), Gaya y Chak a o y Spi ak ela ed he exclusion o women om he p oduc ion o
discou se o he ma ginaliza ion expe ienced by he colonized subjec . La e , in 1996, Spi ak e ined he
de ini ion o he subal e n: “So, ‘ he subal e n canno speak, ‘means ha e en when he subal e n makes an
e o o he dea h o speak, she is no able o be hea d, and speaking and hea ing comple e he speech ac ”
(in Land y and MacLean 1996: 292).
ecosys ems and speci ic economic condi ions do no always os e ansplan a ion, so
when he ins uc ions on he bag o bulbs ecommend adding bone lou o he soil, he
poe ic pe sona comes ace o ace wi h he eal condi ions o locali y: “pe o aquí non
emos diso. / como xus i ica iamos aquí o luxo da ca ne ausen e, / o luxo da e a neg a /
pa a unha simple lo ación” [bu we don’ ha e ha he e. / how could we jus i y he e he
luxu y o he absen lesh, / he luxu y o black soil / o jus one lowe ing] (14-15).
He e and he e a e also b ough oge he by he his o y o ano he plan and i s lowe :
he camellia. The second poem o he Eu opean Cycle, “Rose is a ose is a ose is a ose
ou da denominación das especies” [Rose is a ose is a ose is a ose o on he denomina ion
o species] engagingly ells he s o y o he a i al o camellias in Eu ope and,
unsu p isingly, such a jou ney is wo-way: om Jesui incu sions in o he Fa Eas in he
se en een h cen u y, wi h he accompanying ch is ianiza ion and ade, o p og essi e
impo a ion in o Eu ope, o he ex en ha his bush has become a s aple o Galician
win e ga dens: “ ixiamos despois a súa lo ación / na p o usa cons elación de pazos
galegos” [we la e moni o hei lowe ing / h ough he p o use cons ella ion o Galician
mano s] (18). The colonial and a is oc a ic eno in he his o y o his bush canno pass
unno iced, and ye his plan also ea u es nowadays in public and modes ga dens. Cid
appealingly in e laces he na u al p ocess o oxida ion o he lowe —a ecu en mo i
in ani as iconog aphy— o ancien cul u al and social uses, he eby connec ing pas and
p esen , Eas and Wes . The alling lowe , howe e , b ings a sobe ing ending o eligious,
economic and colonial domina ion: “pé alos co ompidos pola humidade / cando ocan a
e a” [pe als de iled by dampness / when hey ouch he g ound] (18).
Hyb idi ies
The e is a ascina ion in Cid’s poe y o hyb idi y and he encoun e o opposi es such as
home and ab oad, as in he case o he hi d poem o he Eu opean Cycle, “Da en o cadu a
do mundo” [On he o e u n o he wo ld], whe e sea mee s land and o e u ned boa s
u n in o homes. Now a ou is a ac ion in Équihen Plage on he no he n coas o F ance,
hese in e ed boa hulls used o be he humble abodes o poo ishe men and hei
widows. The po e y and he hunge a e in he poem “—a ame pe mí elles e cousas—
” [Hunge enables hem o see hings] (20) bu he aes he iciza ion and commodi ica ion
oo: “E o seu maio encan o consis ía en que e a un ba co de e dade” [And i s g ea es
cha m esided in ha i was a ue boa ] (emphasis added, 21). The ishing people’s hyb id
home, wi h a boa hull as oo , is no jus a mani es a ion o o lo n people’s
esou ce ulness bu also an ap ope o hei hyb id exis ence as much a sea as on land,
which allows he poe ic pe sona o p ojec ha hyb idi y on humani y a la ge: “así a nosa
cosmogonía: un uni e so e lec ido en escamas” [such is ou cosmogony: a uni e se
e lec ed on scales] (22). The ma ine image y and he hyb id sea-land concep ion o
humani y cons i u es a u he de elopmen o a adi ion o ma ine opes in Galician
poe y o which w i e s such as Ana Romaní, Es e o C eus, Ma ía Lado and Ma ila
Aleixand e, among many o he s, o m pa . Boa and home, sea and land, F ance and
Galicia a e b ough oge he h ough image y ha allows hem o ecognize each o he .
The local and he o eign a e also encompassed in he ollowing poem o he
Eu opean Cycle “Ins ucións pa a a ola o canon do Sil” [Ins uc ions o c adle he Sil
Canyon], which, in i s geological his o y o ac u ed ec onic pla es, ela es he Galician

Sil Canyon o he Yellow Moun ains (Huangshan) sung by he Chinese poe Li Bai in he
eigh h cen u y, and o he Sibe ian pe i ied o es s —now being unco e ed because o
pe ma os haw. Deep geological eons a e de ly in e wo en wi h mo e ecen ages o
human ans o ma ion o he landscape h ough mining in Roman imes and longs anding
ag icul u al p ac ices, such as wineg owing on he s eep slopes o he canyon.
Fu he mo e, ea h geological o ma ions and human ans o ma ions o he e i o y a e
en wined wi h pe sonal memo ies and domes ic p ac ices o ca e and emo ional com o :
“des íanse os dedos que descob en a e ida / pa a cu ala. […]” [ he inge s mo e aside
and unco e he wound / o cu e i ] (24). Ecoc i ical analyses o deep geological ime
highligh i s challenge o an h opocen ic his o iog aphies, since i exposes he b e i y o
human p esence on ea h and g an s as much agency o he plane as o human subjec s.
The ocus on na u al his o y also enhances con empo a y pos -humanis hinking by
ecognizing he alue o nonhuman ecology (Flanne y 2016: 7, 69-70).
Somewha less con apun al o he e and he e o pas and p esen is he ollowing
poem “Da pin u a en ea de a aña” [On cobweb pain ing], which p edominan ly ocuses
on he singula a is ic p ac ice o pain ing on spide webs. The s ickiness o he webs
allows o o m a can as o successi e laye s ha need o be pains akingly cleaned and
amed. Cid’s ex aces he i s documen ed p oduc ions back o six een h-cen u y
con en s in he Pus e Valley o he Aus ian Ty olean Alps. The a ious s ages o
cobweb pain ing a e me iculously de ailed: he ga he ing o gossame webs, hei
a angemen and cleaning, he pain ing o eligious, a is oc a ic, popula o na u al hemes
wi h wa e colou s. The ex eme indus iousness and delicacy needed o p oduce hese
gossame pain ings become an ap illus a ion o he labo iousness o a in gene al. Thei
anscendence, howe e , is o be in e oga ed, ela ed as hey a e o monas ic o de s,
a is oc a ic pa ons and ou is memo abilia, and conside ing he sca ce emnan s o be
ound oday. The epheme ali y o a and o human endea ou is ad oi ly bound in his
ex o he agili y and un eliabili y o memo y: “así a memo ia: / esca a uns pe ís,
es ae ou os […]” [such is memo y: / o escue some p o iles, o blu o he s] (28).
Mo eo e , al hough hese p ecious old pain ings a e he main objec o a en ion, a
sidelong dialogue is es ablished wi h ex e nal and appa en ly ex aneous sou ces: he
plane s, he wen ie h-cen u y au ho Gwendolyn B ooks and he celeb a ion o human
s uggle, he science- ic ion w i e A hu C. Cla ke and his awe be o e echnological
ad ancemen , bu also he speake ’s p esence and he d ama ic monologue wi h an
imagina y add essee ha encompasses he eade s. This allu ing in e lacing o
domes ici y and cosmos, pic o ial a and supe s i ion, di ini y and li e’s ma e ial
s uggles, which is cha ac e is ic o Cid’s collec ion and con ibu es o he blending o
di e gen empo al and spa ial scales, is ea u ed once again in he las poem o he
Eu opean Cycle, “T íp ico” [T ip ych].
Mig a ions
The A ican Cycle o he book consis s o jus one poem abou a g ound-b eaking
disco e y conce ning bi ds’ mig a ions. An apoc yphal le e — h ee o he poems in he
collec ion ha e he ph ase “apoc yphal his o y” in hei i le and he eby mo e along he
beguiling bo de line be ween his o ical ac and imagina i e accoun — ells o he
acciden al inding o an a ow-s o k —P eils o ch in Ge man— in he no h-eas o
Ge many in 1822. Wha was ac ually a whi e s o k was enamed a ow-s o k because i
ca ied a cen al A ican spea in i s neck, which p o ed he mig a ion o s o ks o A ica
o win e and hei e u n o Eu ope in summe and s a ed an inno a i e esea ch line
abou bi ds’ mig a ions a ound he plane . As amazing as he e y la e da e o he
disco e y o pa e ns in bi ds’ mig a ions, which did no ake place un il he ea ly
nine een h cen u y, is he accoun o ea lie belie s ega ding he annual disappea ance o
bi ds which ange om A is o le’s heo y abou he bi ds’ me amo phosis o o he bi d
species o he assump ion ha hey hibe na ed unde wa e o he eigh een h-cen u y
hypo hesis ha bi ds lew o he moon. Apa om his su ey o successi e hypo heses
abou animal beha iou ha shows he con ingency and limi a ions o human knowledge
o he na u al wo ld, he no ion o bi ds’ mig a ions be ween A ica and Eu ope, making
o bo h con inen s hei homes, wi hou p i ileging one o e he o he , and de ying human
e i o ial, exclusiona y bounda ies is enligh ening o his discussion o us- hem
concep ualiza ions.
The Ame ican Cycle consis s o wo poems. Human, plan and animal li e a e, one
mo e ime, in e wo en in “His o ia apóc i a das enus a apamoscas ou o campo
magné ico da necesidade” [Apoc yphal his o y o Venus Fly aps o he magne ic ield
o necessi y], abou he Venus Fly ap, he mos amous ca ni o ous plan , which g ows
in he coas al bogs o No h and Sou h Ca olina. No h-Ame ica and he speake ’s
home own a e also b ough oge he by he mo i o he ap: “ao inal as ampas non son
máis que as bocas / digo, / as bocas dunha eno me a acción inchábel nas es as locais /
dos meus doce anos” [in he end aps a e no hing mo e han mou hs / I say / he mou hs
o an eno mous in la able a ac ion in he local es i i ies / o my wel e yea s] (37). The
name and no ion o “ ap” igge s mo al issues abou decep ion and e il ha conce n
humans, bu no na u e, and he poem ac ually explains he ma e ial eason o he plan ’s
beha iou : “os insec os subminis an o ni óxeno que al a no e eo” [insec s p o ide he
ni ogen ha he soil lacks] (38). Ecoc i icism has o en pu he ocus on he ma e iali y
o na u e wi h he aim o disen angle na u e om an h opocen ic mo al no ions (Flanne y
2016: 2-5). A , on i s pa , s uggles o eplica e na u e: “dian e da única especie que non
sabía ep oduci en o igami” [be o e he only species I could no ep oduce in o igami]
(37). Addi ionally, we de ec in he poem he ecoc i ical in e es in he human-animal
con inuum. Human and nonhuman co po eali y is explo ed, as humans u n in o
igu a i e animals: “p oxec ando ugazmen e a escena dunha ma isma / cos e lexos dos
seus cabelos osa lamengo” [ lee ingly p ojec ing he scene o a swamp / wi h he
lamingo pink e lec ions o hei hai ] (37). This example ecalls ha o he a sie
p ima es alluded o in he poem “Rose is a ose is a ose is a ose ou da denominación das
especies”, as hey a e p esen ed as ha ing human-like inge s: “cuns dedos case humanos”
(17). The iden i ica ion o humans wi h he Venus ly aps se es as a conclusion o he
poem: “e que só conseguimos ab aza así // a ew imes be o e we die” [and ha we only
manage o emb ace like his…] (38). In his way, he human speake s’ pe sonal emo ions
a e used wi h plan li e and su i al mechanisms, as he swamps o No h Ca olina a e
b ough close unde inspec ion and he Galician and English language a e in e wo en o
communica e he possibili y o sha ed expe ience.
The second and las poem o he Ame ican Cycle, “A inme sión de Sa o”
[Sappho’s imme sion], makes a e y unusual syn hesis o en omology, li e a y his o y
and legend as i b aids he eme gence o pe iodical cicadas on he Eas e n coas o he
Uni ed S a es, a e se en een yea s o unde g ound exis ence, alongside he w i ing o
he G eek poe Sappho and he legend abou he suicide ou o lo e o he e yman
Phaon. Human and animal con igui y, G eece —as he c adle o Wes e n ci iliza ion—
and he Uni ed S a es’ plen i ul na u al his o y, li e a y biog aphy and legend a e adically
commingled in such a way ha Sappho me amo phoses in o a cicada —“Sa o dób ase a
si mesma / […] // un exoesquele o dou ado / a pun o de eclosiona ” [Sappho bends he sel
/ […] // a golden exoskele on on he poin o moul ing] (39) — and he all o he
legenda y suicide by jumping in o he sea is compa ed o he all o he cicadas’ ha ched
eggs o he g ound, whe e hey bu ow and begin hei se en een-yea s e ch o li e unde
he g ound. Cid’s blending o expe iences usually en ails mo e han bina ies and, in his
poem, he human and nonhuman animal iden i ica ion also a ec s he speake and he
pa ne : “non ixe amos os in e, e du an e dous segundos pensámonos / p ac icamen e
i más / dun billón de pa asi os sub e áneos” (39) [we we en’ wen y ye , and o wo
seconds we hough o ou sel es / as p ac ically sis e s / o a illion pa asi es
unde g ound].
The Asian Cycle o Cid’s collec ion consis s o ou poems, he i s o which is
un i led and begins like his: “que e moso pensa que os deuses abondan” [how beau i ul
o hink ha gods su ice] (45). This is one o he a e poems which p edominan ly ocuses
one-sidedly on he O he , in his case he Chinese sac ed Moun Hua ha used o be
inhabi ed jus by he mi s in a numbe o sca e ed Daois emples be o e i became a
ou is pole o a ac ion. The speake seems o be desc ibing a magazine illus a ion —
“a escada na olla esque da” [ he s eps on he le page] (45)— and a en ion is paid o he
ex ao dina y geog aphical loca ion and human achie emen in he cons uc ion o he
ails, as well as o he eligious and mili a y uses. The objec i e desc ip ion o he place
is inged wi h sub le pe sonal pe cep ions, he mos ob ious o which is he s a ing line
wi h i s i onic commen a y on eligious ai h, while o he s a e indi ec ly exp essed
h ough ad e bs o doub and in e jec ions: “ al ez unha op esión no pei o, e chás”
[maybe an opp ession in he ches , and chas] (45). We he e o e pe cei e in Cid’s poems
a b oad ange o possibili ies o he in e ela ion be ween us and hem ha g adually a y
be ween inconspicuous g amma ical o ms and an ac i e pe sonal in ol emen on he pa
o he speake .
Spec acula iza ion and Animal E hics
“Ukai, da pesca con co os ma iños” [Ukai, on co mo an ishing] is he second poem o
he Asian Cycle. The loca ions men ioned a e E hai Lake, in China, and he Naga a i e
in Japan and he subjec ma e o he poem is Ukai, he adi ional p ac ice o ishing wi h
co mo an s which is o e one housand yea s old. These bi ds a e ained o ish by di ing
bu a sna e ied a ound hei h oa does no le hem swallow he big ish, which is hen
emo ed by he ishe . This p ac ice is nowadays a popula a ac ion wi hin a ou is
indus y ha is pa ially esponsible o wa e quali y deg ada ion and he d ama ic
educ ion o ish in ce ain a eas (Manzi & Coomes 2002).
The poem is di ided in o an in oduc ion and six “mo emen s”, as in a musical
composi ion. The in oduc ion clea ly iden i ies bo h he speake , he subjec ma e and
he se ing. The e is a simul aneous push and pull o ce be ween us and hem, o aliena ion
—“ ó a do noso alcance” [beyond ou each] (47)— and app oxima ion —“pe o con es es
depósi os de auga doce compa imos os co os ma iños” [bu wi h hese esh wa e
ese oi s we sha e co mo an s] (47). The i s “mo emen ” is o u mos impo ance in
ha i e eals he sou ce o in o ma ion abou his ishing p ac ice: “po que asis imos ao
espec áculo po medio de o og a ías alleas” [because we a end he spec acle h ough
somebody else’s pho og aphs] (47). These a e, as made explici in he poem, pic u es
aken by p o essional pho og aphe s and ou is s. This media ion h ough pho og aphy
and ou is ic spec acula iza ion e ec i ely cancels he illusion o di ec access o he
adi ional p ac ice and places he speake a home, a om he place o e en s. Tou is s
a e alluded o as making noise and d inking sake, he e o e denig a ing he adi ion and
he quie in which i mus be ca ied ou . Fishe s and co mo an s a e equally objec i ied
and spec acula ized o he sake o he spec a o ’s igh s, which akes us back o he
discussion o he pho og aph o he book co e and he pe nicious e ec s o massi e
ou ism o bo h cul u al adi ions and he en i onmen , al hough some claim ha his
ishing p ac ice has su i ed hanks o ou is demand. The e e ence o he pho og aphs
also calls a en ion o ou ole as obse e s and eade s o a el and geog aphy
magazines: a e hese audiences aking pa in he o e exploi a ion o he na u al esou ces
in he a ea by demanding his ype o pho og aphy? The ques ion, once mo e, could be:
who con ols and bene i s om his business o spec acula iza ion? P esen -day
pho og aphs, howe e , a e con as ed wi h eng a ings om he Edo pe iod (1603-1868)
in Japan and Cid’s poem acknowledges he way he old eng a ings aes he icize his
ishing p ac ice: “os a is as ec éanse no lume” [a is s elish he depic ion o i e] (47).
The eng a ings a e om a ime when his ishing p ac ice was ecologically
sus ainable and when human su i al p obably depended on he aining o co mo an s,
al hough he ac ual su e ing in lic ed on he co mo an s dese es u he commen .
Richie He zbe g (2018) quo es a haiku om se en een h-cen u y Japan by Ma suo Bashō
which seems o p oblema ize his ishing p ac ice by conside ing i s less ag eeable
aspec s: “Deligh ul, and ye / P esen ly how saddening / he co mo an boa s”. He zbe g
also e e s o Lo i G uen, a specialis in animal e hics, and o he c i icism o he dis ega d
o animal well-being in his ishing me hod, because hese co mo an s a e mos o en
aised in cap i i y and caged, hei wings a e clipped, hey a e no ed du ing he day so
ha hey will ish o he spec acle, hey ha e a sna e a ound hei neck so ha hey will
no swallow he ish and, inally, he ish is o ced ou o hei long h oa . O e looking
he animals’ eelings and glamou izing he ishing adi ion he e o e has e hical
consequences because, as Angélica Velasco Sesma main ains, animal e hics pu s he
emphasis on animals being sen ien c ea u es who eel pain and his sen ience is an
o e iding c i e ion o ea animals e hically (2017: 42).
The second “mo emen ” in Cid’s poem illus a es he an h opocen ic app oach
o mo e- han-human na u e in i s allusions o Ch is ian iconog aphy — he ishe s’ canes
wi h a co mo an on each end esemble S Michael A changel’s balance o weigh souls—
and human-cen ed no ions o jus ice, while he animal is p esen ed as “dispos o ao
aballo” [ eady o ‒also willing o‒ wo k] (48). Al hough he ingenious isual
compa ison be ween he ishe s and S Michael is a de a emp a a hyb id con e gence
o Eas and Wes , o he ness is he e displaced o he animal. While he hi d “mo emen ”
consis s o jus wo dis u bing lines abou he sna e placed a ound he bi ds’ h oa s, he
ou h “mo emen ” desc ibes he ishe ’s emo al o he ish om he h oa and del es
in o he iolence o he p ocess:
ao cabo, sub ae semp e implica iolencia
e supoño
que se o ío de p a a do Eclesias és que une a alma ao co po non lles es i ese
edado aos animais miúdos, ompe ía —plín!— an es de cae na ces a do
pescado.
a a e déixase ace […] (48)
[a e all, o sub ac always en ails iolence / and I suppose / ha i he sil e
co d o he Ecclesias es ha binds he spi i o he body we e no denied o
small c ea u es, i would b eak ‒snap!‒ be o e i d ops inside he ish baske ].
One wonde s whose li e is a s ake he e, ha o he ish o ha o he co mo an , bo h
de ini i ely subal e n, al hough he poem seems o poin o he ish. The i h mo emen
e u ns o he compa ison o he skinny ishe wi h he igu e o S Michael in hei
dominion o e he o he s’ des inies and con inues o ocus on he enc oaching nigh and
he emo al o he sna e om he bi d’s h oa . The las mo emen is a good illus a ion
o he ambi alence owa ds he spec acle: once he baske s a e illed wi h ish, he
co mo an s can inally ea o hei ill: “as es añas o mas do amo e a asalaxe” [ he
s ange mani es a ions o lo e and assalage] (49).
The ollowing poem in he Asian Cycle is “Wing Chun, do amo como a e
ma cial” [Wing Tsun, on lo e as a ma ial a ] a poem ha b ings oge he he Fa Eas —
in i s elabo a ion on he Wing Tsun ma ial a s om China— and he Middle Eas —
wi h he illus a ion o a mas aba, an ancien Egyp ian omb—as well as he cus oma y
quo a ions om w i e s wo ldwide, bu in pa icula om he o e powe ing Wes e n
li e a y canon, ha in e ene in he dialogues s imula ed by Cid’s poems. The
p edominan subjec ma e seems o be he encoun e o opposi es and hei ac ics in
nego ia ing o he ness: “Ng Mui esp ei a unha se pe pelexa cun g ou, di eccionalidade
on e a equilib io […]” [Ng Mui obse es a snake igh ing wi h a c ane, di ec ionali y
e sus balance […]] (52). The poem also b ings abou a concu ence o pa adoxes, as
igh ing becomes an a and bo h become en angled wi h lo e.
The las poem in he Asian Cycle is “Unha columna Asma ” [An Asma pole]
abou a ype o wood ca ing om he Asma cul u e in Wes Papua on he island o New
Guinea ha is pa o a une al i ual o a ac he a ou o ances o spi i s. Al hough
Wes Papua is an Indonesian e i o y, i is geog aphically included in he Oceanian
egion. I s ansi ional loca ion, howe e , makes he con inen al di ision seem po ous.
The poem consis s o six pa s and p edominan ly ocuses on he desc ip ion and unc ion
o hese ce emonial ca ings. The book u nishes, addi ionally, an illus a ion o one
Asma pole. The poem begins wi h a e e ence o diaspo a: “In uí o bosque na dispe sión
das semen es” [ o in ui he o es in he dispe sion o seeds] (55), because he wo d
“diaspo a” comes om he G eek dia-spei o: o sow ac oss. Cid plays wi h he polysemy
o he wo d “column” o inally ocus on he Asma pole: “unha columna se e, en e os
asma , pa a conmemo a o que ma cha” [a pole se es, among he Asma , o
commemo a e he one who passes away] (55). The poem b ie ly desc ibes he
swamplands ecosys em ha he Asma a e pa o and hei cus oms, and immedia ely
con inues o ocus on he ca ing o he pole: he mang o e ee ha is cu o each pole
and he sophis ica ed ca ing ha supe poses human igu es ep esen ing he ances o s o
he deceased pe son. Cid also d aws a en ion o in e sion o he ee in i s ca ing, since

he oo s o he ee a e used o ca e a e y o na e p o ube ance a he op: “aquí, e ixi
unha homenaxe que e dici in e e unha á bo e” [he e, o e ec a memo ial means o
in e a ee] (56). The ca ing o a canoe o anspo he ances o s o he a e -wo ld is
ano he signi ican elemen in he pole which, when inished, is le o o in he ields o
en ich he soil.
Besides he w i e ’s sub le pe sonal and cul u al e e ences h oughou he poem,
he shi in pe spec i e is os ensibly ma ked a he end o Cid’s ex , whe e he new ocus
is “Pa ís, maio de 2017” [Pa is May 2017] (57), o be ollowed by a memo y o May 2015
in he same ci y, and an explosion o wo ldwide e e ences: o Vaga o and Anjuna in he
Indian s a e o Goa —wi h i s Po uguese colonial pas and nowadays a popula ou is
des ina ion— conce ning he a ious well-d illing s udies in he egion o examine he
hyd ogeological condi ions; an allusion o Wal Whi man’s w i ing abou he we lands o
Ame ica; and a u he e e ence o P o ence, in F ance, by which he eade , in an
a emp o ollow a connec ing h ead, conju es he we lands o La Cama gue. This inal
ple ho a o e e ences o we lands opens he speci ici y o he Asma cul u e o o he lands
wi h simila swamp condi ions bu di e se cul u al p ac ices, he eby a oiding he
amalgam o he O he . In hei p oli e a ion, hese en wined allusions o o he ma shlands
a he e y end o he poem esemble he elabo a e, o na e p o ube ance o he Asma
pole.
The Oceanian Cycle consis s o jus one long poem i led “Ca as de na egación
polinesias” [Polynesian na iga ion cha s] and con ains wo illus a ions: one o a s ick
cha om he egion and ano he o Ne e i i’s p o ile, bo h ea u ing su p ising
simila i ies —a coincidence ha he poem exploi s and ha highligh s he hyb idi y aimed
a by he whole collec ion. The poem begins wi h a quo a ion om John Ashbe y’s poe y
in ee ansla ion and wi h an adap a ion o Galician speci ici y, as “dese hea ” becomes
“a calo das Limias” (61) [ he Limias’ hea ]. He e and he e a e bo h in e wined as he
na iga ing skills o Polynesian sailo s p o ide enligh ening me apho s o human
emo ional ela ionships. The o e iding subjec ma e seems o be ha o di ec ion, ou e
and a el, as hese become ecu en no ions om he beginning o he end o he poem.
The sailo s’ bodily pe cep ion o he sea cu en s in hei communion wi h he canoe, he
making o he na iga ing cha s by means o s icks elabo a ely ied oge he o ma k
cu en s, sea swells, a olls and islands, he ac ile memo izing o he cha s h ough he
sense o ouch, he sec ecy abou he in o ma ion encoded in he cha s, all hese aspec s
o Polynesian na iga ing wisdom e eal impo an in o ma ion abou ou sen imen al
educa ion: “así a nosa comp ensión dos a ec os: / a ilexibilidade, a dependencia do ac o,
o ecido” [such is ou unde s anding o he a ec s: / he illegibili y, dependence on ouch,
he pa e n] (63). The human body is, hen, like a canoe ha egis e s he di ec ions o
unde wa e cu en s, as lo e s assemble hei s ick cha s o o ien a e hemsel es h ough
he haza ds o hei ela ionship.
“Á ico” [A c ic] is he las geog aphical egion ea u ed as a sec ion in A las and
con ains jus one poem “Mapas de óso inui ” [Maps o Inui bone]. I he p e iously
analysed poems abou he Polynesian s ick cha s, he Asma poles, Chinese ma ial a s
and Ukai ishing anspo us o cul u al p ac ices al eady pe o med long be o e Wes e n
ci iliza ion had i s impac on hese egions, he same happens wi h his poem abou Inui
ca og aphy. The poem is accompanied by an illus a ion ha ac ually co esponds o wo
Inui wooden maps o he coas line o G eenland —see The Decolonial A las 2016 o he
ac ual ma ching o he wooden maps and he coas line hey ep esen . These ca ed maps
we e supposed o help Inui na iga o s iden i y islands and jo ds simply by eeling wi h
hei inge s he edge o he ca ed wood and i s ep esen a ion o he coas ou line.
The poem begins wi h a quo a ion om John Ashbe y’s poe y, ansla ed again
wi h appealing eedom, abou ood and eeding, a heme ha will become especially
ele an again a he end o he poem. Al hough no long, he ex is di ided in o h ee
pa s, he i s o which in oduces some impo an elemen s o he poem: he snowed
landscape, he decoding o s ange alphabe s and he p ocess o adap a ion o di icul
ligh condi ions. Pa wo ocuses on he igu e on an Inui hun e and, as happens mo e
han once in Cid’s collec ion, he e is an explici acknowledgemen o he medium
h ough which he po ayed scene is accessed, in his case a ilm p ojec ed on a sc een.
This ecogni ion o media ed accessibili y is impo an in ha i calls a en ion o he
speaking subjec ’s and he spec a o ’s pe spec i e and ci cums ances — hei in e ences
om he scenes a e in e spe sed h oughou he poem— and b eaks he illusion o
Wes e n unimpeded mobili y. Howe e , he ocus o a en ion will no be wha is seen
bu wha is imagined: he hun e ’s supposed use o a small ca ed wooden map ha can
be ead by eeling i wi h one’s inge s. This map se es as o ien a ion in a way simila
o he guide p o ided by he Polynesian s ick maps in he p e ious poem. Bo h maps a e
ac ile a he han isual bu while he s ick maps a e no ca ied in he oyage, he Inui
ca ed ool can be easily kep inside he hand glo es.
The hi d and las pa o he poem mo es on o ano he mani es a ion o Inui
cul u e: he inukshuk, a igu e o piled s ones buil o communica e wi h o he inhabi an s
o he A c ic and ac ing as a hun ing and na iga ion aid, bu also p o iding in o ma ion
abou he place whe e ood is s o ed (Hallendy 2013). He e is whe e he poem nea ly
connec s wi h he ini ial quo a ion o Ashbe y’s poem: “po que a es a ua signi ica: /
alguén pasou an es po aquí, a opa ás peixe ce ca” [because he s a ues means:
somebody passed h ough he e be o e, you will ind ish nea by] (68). Su i al in hese
ex eme egions depends on ac s o solida i y such as his one. Cid’s poem is no jus
p esen ing and del ing in o he li ing condi ions o wha may seem like an alien cul u e
o us, mode n-day Eu ocen ic eade s, bu is also highligh ing he necessi y and mo al
du y o p o ec he s ange , e en i his solida i y ac ually esul s om a social pac ha
sa egua ds e e ybody’s in e es s.
A las inishes wi h a sec ion i led “Ensaios ou As lo es de ok a ab i on e
pecha on du an e a eclipse” [Essays o The ok a lowe s opened and closed du ing he
eclipse]. The encoun e wi h al e i y consis s, in his case, in he ascina ion wi h
ege able li e expe ienced by wo main c ea o s: Ka l Bloss eld , a Ge man pho og aphe
who managed o cap u e he sculp u al quali ies o plan s, and Wal e Benjamin, whose
commending e iew o Bloss eld ’s album o plan pho og aphy con ibu ed o he a is ’s
wo ldwide ecogni ion (F iedlande 2017). Like Bloss eld ’s bo anical pic u es,
ca ego ized as illus a i e o he New Objec i i y aes he ics, he b ie , numbe ed
s a emen s o his concluding sec ion a e o en ende ed h ough scien i ic w i ing
con en ions: “Vid. ‘News abou Flowe s’, do ano ci ado” [See “News abou Flowe s” o
he ci ed yea ] (73). A uly he e oglossic ex , hese “essays” en wine a plu al i s -pe son
speake wi h a hi d-pe son na a o ha conju es scenes o he pho og aphe ’s passion
o plan s. Fu he mo e, a se ies o ques ions posed o an open add essee in i e he eade
o his mul i ace ed exchange be ween human and mo e- han-human na u e, and be ween
us, he p esen -day local eade s o he Galician-language e sion o his collec ion and
hem, he Ge man a is s and schola s o he ea ly wen ie h cen u y.
Concluding Rema ks
Alba Cid’s A las opens he Galician local eali y o a plane a y scale, and he p esen day
o deep ime be o e he appea ance o humans on Ea h, he eby p esen ing he wo ld in
unceasing mo emen and ecomposi ion whe e on ie s ac ually become passages o
co ido s, as Edoua d Glissan and Pa ick Chamoiseau would pu i (2007: 17). This is a
book in en on mig a ion and ansplan a ion, and elabo a es on nume ous ins ances o
hyb idi y be ween us and hem, he e and he e, now and hen. Among he ange o
eac ions o ha O he isi ed o con empla ed in he poems, con inuous ques ions a e
aised abou he phenomenon o spec acula iza ion, s a ing wi h he pho og aph o he
book co e i sel . The ou is gaze —a e m ha John U y (1990) has u ned in o a
ca ego y o analysis— is also he objec o sc u iny o denounce i s pe e se e ec s on
human and mo e- han-human li e: hei objec i ica ion, app op ia ion, commodi ica ion
and exo iciza ion. Fu he mo e, he poems o en call he eade ’s a en ion o he
media ions o pho og aphs, eng a ings, d awings, ilms and pain ings in ou encoun e
wi h he O he , hus denying he kind o di ec access ha he Wes e n spec a o eels
en i led o. The colonial his o y o mobili y is always in he backg ound, e en when he
appa en ocus may be on he ma e ial eali y o a delica e lowe o a bush impo ed om
Asia. A las shows how na u e and cul u e unde go an un elen ing p ocess o c oss-
e iliza ion and how mig a ion, whe he o human o mo e- han-human na u e, expands
he no ion o home.
I.1.3. Co espondences
The pu pose o he p esen sec ion is o make a succinc commen a y on he simila i ies
and di e ences ound in he con igu a ions o o eignness and he encoun e be ween us
and hem in hese wo ecen poe y collec ions: Ma y O’Donnell’s Massac e o he Bi ds
(2020) and Alba Cid’s A las (2019). This compa a i e app oach is no ounded on he
exis ence o wha he F ench adi ion o compa a i e li e a u e used o call appo s de
ai , o ac ual and his o ical connec ions (É iemble 1963: 97). Thus, he a gumen he e
will no be based on he mu ual in luence o hese wo poe s esul ing om hei li e a y
collabo a ions. Howe e , as men ioned in he in oduc o y chap e , he social and cul u al
bonds be ween I eland and Galicia h ough his o y, especially ega ding he p edicamen
o mig a ion and i s concomi an encoun e wi h o eignness and becoming o eign
onesel , in i e he hypo hesis ha he indings in one li e a y ield will be ele an o he
o he , and ha conce ns aised in one na ional li e a u e may expose blind spo s o
an alising omissions in he o he . Fu he mo e, bo h poe s ha e e i iable awa eness o
he cul u al p oduc ion o each o he ’s li e a y adi ion and p esen de elopmen s.
Bo h poe y collec ions ha e been published in e y ecen imes and bo h a e by
emale poe s bo n and aised in hei espec i e Wes e n Eu opean coun ies: I eland and
Galicia. This poe y will, he e o e, allow eade s o app aise p esen -day esponses o he
encoun e wi h o eignness, as pe cei ed by wo whi e, Eu opean women wi h
o midable, inqui ing minds. Howe e , he books ha e had a di e en ecep ion and
impac on hei sphe es o in luence, as O’Donnell’s Massac e o he Bi ds, he eigh h
collec ion, has ecei ed a numbe o lauda o y e iews bu no li e a y p ize o da e, while
Cid’s A las —he i s published collec ion so a — was awa ded he Miguel He nández
Na ional P ize o Young Poe s in 2020, which will en ail a g ea boos o Cid’s li e a y
ca ee and o he dissemina ion, ansla ion and impac o he collec ion. The e is,
ne e heless, a con a y subs an ial di e ence in he expec ed each o hese wo
collec ions, because O’Donnell’s is w i en in a global language, English, and is published
in I eland —a coun y ha has made o i s li e a y p oduc ion a po en beacon o cul u al
sophis ica ion— whe eas Cid’s book is w i en in Galician, a mino i ized language ha ,
al hough much mo e widely spoken han I ish, pain ully s uggles o main ain i s numbe
o speake s and li e a y audience. O’Donnell has w i en elsewhe e abou he sensi i e
ela ionship wi h he I ish e nacula language (2009: 52-53), and, in Massac e o he
Bi ds, she acknowledges he mo he ’s bilingual he i age. This kind o ecogni ion o he
o eigne wi hin us is o ex eme impo ance o ou esponse o he o eigne ou side, as
Julia K is e a main ains: “By ecognizing him wi hin ou sel es, we a e spa ed de es ing
him in himsel ” (1991: 1). Cid, on he pa , does no explici ly engage wi h he linguis ic
con lic in Galicia in his book, bu is especially conce ned wi h he his o y and ci cula ion
o wo ds o he poin o e ealing hei essen ial o eignness, as in he example she gi es
o he e ymology and G eek o igin o he placename “Ana olia” in Tu key (2019: 13).
The gene alized impac o pos -colonial deba es o he las ew decades may
explain he awa eness ha bo h Massac e o he Bi ds and A las e ince o colonial and
neo-colonial ela ions, wi h hei powe imbalances and exploi a i e ambi ions, in he
ci cula ion o goods and people. Likewise, mode n ou is p ac ices a e ea u ed in bo h
books and aise ques ions abou he spec a o ’s pe cei ed en i lemen o wa ch,
commodi y and spec acula ize he O he ega dless o he la e ’s in e es s o igh s. Bo h
was a bomb in Ox o d S ee yes e day. Some o you coun ymen” (De lin 1985: 60).9
Bo n in Bel as , he s a us should be ha o a ci izen o he Uni ed Kingdom, hough he
secu i y o ice speaks o he as i she came om a di e en coun y. The agic i ony is
ha , while in England she is linked wi h menacing na ionalis e o is s, in Bel as she
will be he ic im o unionis bigo y.
Can his chasm be ween he I ish and he English be b idged? “Two ee be ween
he B i ish and he I ish in he ai po lounge”, he p o agonis obse es, while adding
“Two ee and se en hund ed yea s” (60), which e okes no only he p ocess o
coloniza ion begun by Sco ish P esby e ians and English Anglicans wi h he Uls e
Plan a ions in he se en een h cen u y, bu also ha ks back o he No man se lemen s in
I eland in he ea ly hi een h cen u y. A his poin , i is ap o emembe Elizabe h
Bowen’s wish ha he I ish would emembe his o y a li le less and he English a li le
mo e (Ingman 2009: 239).
The p o agonis ’s uns able iden i y eaches a poin o inde e minacy when she
hinks ha , nex ime she has o ill in he cus oms ca d, she will w i e “don’ know” unde
na ionali y (61). This eac ion ecalls he s o y “Walking he Dog” (1996), by Be na d
MacLa e y, in which a man who is walking his dog sa es his li e when, asked abou his
sec a ian a ilia ion by a g oup o pa amili a ies, he answe s: “I suppose I’m no hing” (7).
Howe e , i is e y di icul o hide one’s allegiances in No he n I eland, whe e
seg ega ion a ec s all aspec s o he ci izens’ li es: educa ion, wo k, housing loca ion,
spo , ma iage, accen and e en colou s. When, ea ly in De lin’s s o y, he p o agonis
in o ms us ha he lo e ’s a he is a shipya d wo ke , he in o med eade al eady ga he s
he is a P o es an —since Ca holics would ind i e y di icul o ge a job in shipbuilding
and enginee ing a he ime. As soon as she men ions ha he pa en s li e Ande sons own,
eade s immedia ely g asp he na u e o he con lic ha will un old in he ollowing
pages, as his is a Ca holic zone in Bel as which was se e ely punished du ing he
T oubles. In a like manne , Anne De lin also se s he play Ou sel es Alone (1986) in
Ande sons own and deals wi h he epe cussions in his a ea o he hunge s ikes by IRA
p isone s in 1981.
The emale p o agonis in De lin’s “Fi e No es a e a Visi ” desi es o anscend
seg ega ion and mu ual hos ili y be ween Ca holics and P o es an s by means o lo e. She
emembe s he six yea s o soli ude in England un il S ewa , a Bel as P o es an en e ed
he li e. Thei happy imes in England a e p esen ed as a pic u e o domes ic bliss: “ou
b eak as s a lunch ime in my ga den, ou e ening meals on he a , my bed” (62). As in
Fiona Ba ’s s o y, he domes ic sphe e and pe sonal a ec ions a e he means o o e come
di ision. When he couple ies o ec ea e hei p i a e pa adise in Bel as , hey a e soon
eminded his is no place o loyal ies o he han poli ical ones. They ecei e a phone call
saying: “Send you Fenian gi l iend back whe e she belongs, o we’ll gi e he he wo ks
and hen you” (64). In his con ex , “Fenian” is a de oga o y wo d o Ca holic, and he
implica ion is ha she is no allowed o li e in a P o es an qua e wi h a P o es an man.
How did hey ind ou he iden i y? Maybe h ough he Ca holic name (she is nameless
in he s o y), maybe h ough he oo ball pools, when she chose Li e pool, e c. The s o y
9 All quo a ions om Anne De lin’s “Fi e No es a e a Visi ” a e he ea e aken om Ru h Hooley’s 1985
edi ion o The Female Line and only page numbe s a e p o ided.

ac ually exposes he p epos e ous assump ions on which sec a ian a ilia ion is based. The
lo e s gi e up hei hypo heses, as hey ealize ha he pa amili a ies would ha e ound
ou soone o la e .
Since hese h ea s end o be execu ed wi h diligence, he p o agonis has no o he
op ion bu o lea e Bel as and e u n o England. This is no lo e s-o -Ve ona s o y:
nei he does he couple die no do hey emain oge he . The p o agonis ’s lo e has a
clea e sense o belonging han she and he s ays in Bel as : “Wha e e his place is — i ’s
my home” (66). Back a Hea h ow ai po , she is asked o some means o iden i ica ion
and he secu i y o ice wan s o know he pu pose o he isi . Al hough he s o y pu s
he emphasis on he p o agonis ’s uneasiness du ing he immig a ion o ice ’s
in e oga ion, he comings and goings sugges ha she leads a bo de exis ence ha
puzzles au ho i ies. In ac , she has he des abilizing powe o a icks e igu e. She had
al eady el she was ea ed like a isi o in he home own when he axi d i e signalled
o he he Ca holic landma ks in Bel as . She seems o ha e only isi o s a us whe e e
she goes. E en ually, England is no sa e e uge, ei he . He milkman’s son, inding no
o he job, has joined he A my o go o No he n I eland. He supe ma ke su e s h ee
bomb sca es in one week and a bomb kills ou een people in London. Bo h English and
I ish ci ilians su e he consequences o he No he n I ish con lic . C amped by ea ,
he p o agonis becomes pa anoid: “I keep mysel awake all nigh so I am eady when
hey come” (67). The pessimis ic conclusion seems o be ha he e is no possibili y o a
heal hy iden i y in his con ex o gene alized and indisc imina e iolence.
The las s o y o discussion is “Twen ynine Palms” by Ma y O’Donnell,
published in he 2008 collec ion S o m o e Bel as . In spi e o wha he i le o he book
may sugges , his collec ion is no abou he T oubles. In ac he e a e ew aces o hem
in he s o ies, as he ac ion is b ough o he wen y- i s cen u y. Published en yea s a e
he Good F iday Ag eemen —also known as he Bel as o he S o mon Ag eemen —
in No he n I eland (1998), hese s o ies lea e he imp ession ha hey wish o u n a page
in I ish his o y. Ne e heless, Ma y O’Donnell is explici elsewhe e abou he sca le by
he B i ish coloniza ion o I eland: “The absen pa en — he ex-colonial one— le a as
ape u e in he social consciousness o I eland ha ook decades o begin o seal and heal”
(2007: 160). Al hough Ma y O’Donnell is om Monahan —a coun y o Uls e which,
a e he pa i ion in 1921, o med pa o he hen called Sou he n I eland and al hough
she has he sel endu ed he con lic i e iden i y eelings o being a Republican in he No h
(Palacios 2007: 144), he main in e es s in his sho ic ion collec ion a e he ways in
which I ish women explo e he wo ld and o ge s ong pe sonali ies hanks o he
expe iences hey unde go. England o he English a e no , o hese new women, he
objec o g ea cu iosi y anymo e, excep in he s o y “Twen ynine Palms”, whe e hey
ecu as a pain ul memo y ha , now and hen, needs o be e isi ed. An I ish baby-si e
in mul i-e hnic San Diego, Cali o nia, Connie has an insa iable cu iosi y o he exo ic,
whe he his be Ame ican eligious undamen alism, d ugs, o he li es and belie s o
Na i e Ame icans, al hough he measu ing s ick is mos o en he own na i e I eland:
The God-g oupies didn’ eak Connie. She’d ne e known undamen alism,
e en in I eland. Now, she accep ed i as a na u al pa o he exo icism o exile,
pa o he sel -conscious h ill ha came each ime she expe ienced o he ness,
in wha e e o m. (O’Donnell 2008: 122)10
In Cali o nia, Connie es s he p ejudices abou o he e hnic g oups and ways o li e, bu
she also comes ace o ace wi h he clichés o he people ha e abou he I ish. When she
co ec s Ma ia, he Mexican domes ic se an : “Come on, Ma ia. You’ e go o imp o e
you English i you wan hem o ake you se iously” (113), Ma ia e o s: “You no
pe ec . You I ish” (113), which shows how quickly he subal e n pe son in e io izes he
hie a chy o alue imposed by he colonize . E en i he Ame ican employe s like he
way Connie speaks, hey es ablish a hie a chy o I ish accen s. Abou a p e ious baby-
si e om Ke y o Co k — hey a e no su e— hey say: “Anyway, whe e e she was
om, we ne e could ell jus wha she was sayin’. He oice wen up an’ down, all o e
he place. A eal Colleen” (112). This cliché o he I ish gi l (in Gaelic cailín) who speaks
English wi h a s ong I ish in ona ion is one o many s e eo ypes agains which he
p o agonis mus cons uc he own iden i y.
The es o he subal e n’s skill in mimicking he colonize ’s accen in oduces an
impo an lashback in he s o y, as Connie emembe s he los pa adise o childhood
du ing a summe holiday wi h he amily in Wex o d. This lashback is a na a i e
mani es a ion o a ghos ly pas ha con inues o make i s p esence el . Like all pa adises,
his one also had i s se pen : he English gues s, who made he amily’s accen seem
w ong and, cu iously enough, “ou o place” (114):
A dinne e e y e ening, English oices announced an un amilia , ye
app o ed o , s anda d. In compa ison, hei so e I ish ones seemed obliquely
ela ed o he language hey sha ed. On ha holiday hey became islande s,
hobbling a e hei be e s. (115)
One day du ing his holiday, wo young English women ask hem o join he olleyball
eam ha will play ha a e noon. The in i a ion seems ank and he ques ion is whe he
his I ish amily is eady o eel on equal e ms wi h hei English coun e pa s. Connie’s
pa en s eac awkwa dly, class-conscious abou hei modes beach u ensils, eage o
please, los o wo ds, emba assed, o e ing excuses, un il, upon he English women’s
insis ence, hey elen and say:
‘Well. Su e, we’ll see,’ he mo he elen ed.
‘We’ll see? Splendid!’ she said in a high, ic o ious oice. ‘I know ha ’s
Gaelic o yes!’ (116)
The English women, hough ull o good in en ions, eso o he s e eo ype abou Gaelic
ambigui y. O cou se, he I ish amily will also laugh a he English women’s u ns o
ph ase and accen , bu hey will only do so a e he women a e gone. Du ing hei holiday,
al hough he amily is no eally excluded, hey a e made o eel “alien” (116). Abdul R.
JanMohamed main ains ha i is impossible o he colonize s o posi ion hemsel es as
equals, as hey would ha e o enounce hei own ideology o mo al supe io i y in
app oaching he O he (1995: 18). A e his encoun e wi h he English women, Connie
decides she will ne e eel in e io again on accoun o he way she speaks: “Some people
10 All quo a ions om Ma y O’Donnell’s “Twen ynine Palms” a e he ea e aken om he New Island
2008 edi ion o he collec ion S o m o e Bel as and only page numbe s a e gi en.
we e so s upid ha hey would always need he eassu ance o ha ing hei own accen s
echoed back” (117). Howe e , pa adoxically, she soon begins o wo k a he own accen
and o p ac ise new in lec ions o he oice. While Ma ia’s Mexican accen emains
“de ian ” (117), Connie modi ies he s o a oid he humilia ions and mocke y ha i
p o okes. In ac , no only will she in e io ize he colonize ’s hie a chy o accen s and
iden i y he s as he anomalous one, bu , as seen ea lie , she will en o ce i on Ma ia,
he eby ep oducing he con ol mechanisms o empi e.
Connie, who was named Cons ance a e he amous Anglo-I ish na ionalis
Cons ance Ma kie icz (1868-1927), con inues he p ocess o sel -disco e y in Cali o nia
and, in e es ingly enough, i is a Na i e Ame ican, Blue Hawk, who mos helps he . A e
hey go beyond he clichés o each o he ’s cul u e: “‘Know wha , I ishwoman?’ ‘Wha ,
Injun?’” (125), hey s a o sha e no ions o dispossession and coloniza ion: “Back when
you Cons ance was igh in’ along wi h hem e olu iona ies. Y’all li ed on a kind o
ese a ion oo, igh ?” (126). E en ually, he dese becomes “home” (127) o Connie.
As in he s o ies by Ba and De lin, he emale p o agonis can make a home —a li e al
o igu a i e, p i a e, in ima e space— whe e e he encoun e wi h he O he becomes a
ul illing expe ience ha o e comes mu ual mis us and su ounding hos ili y.
Concluding Rema ks
The wo Bel as sho s o ies seen in his chap e show an inspi ing O he who ei he
o e s “new is as” —“The Wall Reade ”— o makes li e wi hou his O he a mise able,
soli a y expe ience —“Fi e No es a e a Visi ”. I is as i Ba and De lin commi ed
hemsel es o su moun ing he abyss be ween he na ionalis and he unionis ac ions
while he con lic was a i s peak o c uel y, e en i hei choices as w i e s could en ail
he punishmen ese ed o hose accused o a e nizing wi h he enemy. Howe e ,
con a y o wha one migh expec , Ma y O’Donnell’s s o y, app oxima ely wo decades
la e , e isi s he pas wi h a ace o esen men which can be explained by he long-
s anding implemen a ion, by he B i ish, o a p ocess o in e io iza ion among he I ish.
As Cla e Ca oll and Pa icia King main ain: “The e ec s o he colonial pas a e a om
o e in I eland and No he n I eland” (2003: 2). In O’Donnell’s case, he inspi ing O he
is he Na i e Ame ican, he e hnic subal e n wi h whom he I ish cha ac e sha es he
expe ience o being dispossessed and ma ginalized.
Julia K is e a’s sugges ion ha o eigne dwells wi hin ou sel es can be
illus a ed in De lin’s s o y by he p o agonis ’s s a us as a isi o whe e e she goes, as
well as by O’Donnell’s p o agonis , an alien in he own coun y and a nomadic subjec
who chooses o make o an Ame ican Fi s Na ions ese a ion he home. In he Bel as
s o ies, he in ole an poli ical clima e o ces he p o agonis s o lea e as exiles, whe eas
in O’Donnell’s s o y o his new millennium, he mo i a ing o ce o a el is cu iosi y
abou he wo ld, a so o wande lus . Howe e , he e is no an asy abou globaliza ion,
cosmopoli anism and un es ic ed a el, as secu i y bo de con ols and isas cons an ly
emind us ha mo emen is no ee. As o he in e sec ion be ween gende and
o eignness, i is in e es ing o obse e he emale p o agonis s’ disa ec ion wi h
no ma i e o con en ional iden i ies, hei ac i e ole in he app oach o he O he and
hei agency in he ans o ma ion o socie y. The p i a e, domes ic space, which is also
he ealm o emo ional li e, becomes a si e whe e he genuine encoun e wi h he O he
can be achie ed, e en i his space is besieged by xenophobia. This domes ic space is no
necessa ily he amily home any mo e, bu anO he place assembled collabo a i ely by
us and hem.
I.2.2. Nomadic Women in Galician Sho Fic ion
Mais esa noi e El-Rei deu a o de amén de que se des uí a a es a ua. Pe o
iso, pa a se che since a, oi o que menos sen ín, pois nunca gus ei dela. As
es a uas ca ecen de mobilidade. (G acián 2020: 220)
[Bu ha nigh he King ga e he o de o des oy he s a ue. Al hough, o be
ank, ha was wha I eg e ed he leas , since I had ne e liked i . S a ues
lack mobili y].
This chap e on he con igu a ion o o eignness in Galician sho ic ion, will cen e on
wo sho s o y compila ions: Na ado as. 25 au o as galegas (2000) —a women-
au ho ed selec ion ha ga he s some o he mos p ominen Galician emale w i e s— and
O lib o dos ens (2019) —a ecen and balanced selec ion o s o ies by male and emale
w i e s who ocus on he mo i o he ain and i s concomi an no ions o mobili y. The
ollowing discussion aims o sc u inize he a ious ways in which women au ho s o sho
s o ies engage wi h no ions o women’s mobili y, o eignness and he gene al
con igu a ion o o he ness. The ini ial epig aph is aken om Ánxela G acián’s s o y in
Na ado as i led “As noi es en que o en o asubía o eu nome” [The nigh s when he
wind whis les you name], which ecoun s he li e and opinions o he woman mins el
Ma ía Pé ez, also called “Bal ei a” in he o m o a le e ha she w i es o he iend
Lou enço. Ma ía ealizes ha he li e is coming o an end and wan s o clean he
epu a ion by de ending he sel om he slande ous songs w i en agains he igu e.
Conce ning he p o agonis ’s ou spokenness abou powe ela ions in he socie y
o he ime, he c i ique o dualis ic hinking dese es special men ion because i is a he
oo o he opp ession o women and all o he subal e n beings. The eco eminis
philosophe Angélica Velasco Sesma d aws on nume ous eminis e e ences o a i m
ha Wes e n hough is based on concep ual dualisms ha es ablish a gende hie a chy o
masculine supe io i y and eminine subal e ni y, such as eason-emo ion, human-animal,
mind-body, anscendence-immanence, cul u e-na u e, ci ilized-p imi i e, p oduc ion-
ep oduc ion, eedom-necessi y (2017: 97). Simila ly, he w i e Ánxela G acián has he
p o agonis claim ha human socie ies a e go e ned by absu d bina y opposi ions ha
ne e allow con a ies o mee he eby simpli ying and alsi ying human expe ience:
“Onde queda luga pa a o que non é nin un nin ou o, senón algo de cada un?” [whe e is
he emaining space o ha which is no one o he o he , bu a bi o each?] (2020: 209).11
This c i ique, one could a gue, also applies o he dis inc ion be ween us and hem, which
is also an o e simpli ied and opp essi e pa e n o iden i y o ma ion ha es ablishes
a i icial on ological bounda ies be ween bo h g oups and does no acknowledge hei
mu ual o ma ion o he deg ee o o eignness cons i u i e o he sel , as Julia K is e a
eminds us in S ange s o Ou sel es (1991: 1).
Since women ha e only been allo ed by pa ia chy he domes ic ole o mo he s
and ca egi e s, Ma ía, he p o agonis , ebels agains his imposed unc ion and u ns
11 All quo a ions om Na ado as. 25 au o as galegas a e he ea e aken om he 2020 edi ion by
Edicións Xe ais de Galicia and only page numbe s a e gi en.

p ecisely o dualis ic hinking o alo ize all ha pa ia chy has despised, he eby
upse ing he hie a chy ha unde lies bina y di isions:
Sen emba go, nes e sis ema dual de escollas, a miña oi semp e esa que
mani es a o lado i acional e que os nosos poe as chama on desmesu a.
P e e ín semp e a paixón in ensa, máis e éme a, á doce es abilidade dos
amo es máis con enien es ca que idos; o mundo das iaxes e o das
descube as ó mundo ap acible dos ho izon es coñecidos. P e e ín amén o
ca oma o dos a is as ós sólidos mu os do pazo. (209-210)
[Howe e , in his dual sys em o choice, mine has always been ha which
exposes he i a ional side and which ou poe s ha e called excess. I ha e
always p e e ed in ense passion, mo e epheme al, o he swee s abili y o
a ec ions ha a e mo e con enien han lo ed; he wo ld o a els and
disco e ies o he mellow wo ld o known ho izons. I ha e also p e e ed he
a is s’ wagon o he solid walls o he mano ].
Ma ía’s choice is clea when o ced o choose wi hin he pa ia chal dualis ic o de :
excess, passion, a elling, disco e ies and an a is ’s i ine an li e. When he king,
u ious abou he ebelliousness, o de s he demoli ion o he s a ue aised in he honou ,
she does no eg e i , as s a ues canno mo e and she is all o mobili y and eedom. This
sec ion will subsequen ly del e in o he sund y examples, in Na ado as and O lib o dos
ens, o women’s mobili ies, hei mo i a ions, objec i es, means, p ac ices and
consequences.
The Nomadic Woman
“Lola”, he s o y by Rosa Anei os included in Na ado as, is abou a success ul
in e na ional emale pho og aphe called Lola, who e u ns o he Galician home- illage
a e he a he ’s une al, which she has missed. The na a ion is bound oge he by he
me a-a is ic mo i o pho og aphy, as i i s a ious sequences we e iewed h ough a
came a lens, a de ice ha acili a es he de achmen om and de amilia iza ion o
pe cep ions and e en s. The one-mo ning empo al ame — he local es i i y day, so old
acquain ances can be easily me on he public space— is agmen ed and ende ed mo e
complex by a se ies o lashbacks abou he p o agonis ’s expe iences du ing he
se en een yea s she has been ab oad. He e and elsewhe e, p esen and pas a e he e o e
in e wined as cons i u i e pa s o he p o agonis ’s iden i y.
The na a ion is especially enigma ic abou wha igge ed Lola’s depa u e in
1985, e en hough he easons o emale p o agonis s’ depa u es a e essen ial elemen s
o any plo and become c ucial o he unde s anding o women’s mobili y. The i s
encoun e in he illage is ha wi h he p o agonis ’s godmo he , who played an impo an
ole in he pa ing: “Ela sabe ben po qué ma chou, de ei o oi a elliña quen a empu ou
a aquela decisión que lle mudou a ida” [She knows well why she le , in ac i was he
old woman who pushed he o make ha decision ha changed he li e] (34). Besides his
enigma, he e is ha o Lola’s ela ionship wi h he deceased a he , who was he only
one o know he p o agonis ’s whe eabou s bu who ne e old he es o he amily. Fo
his eason, Lola could no be con ac ed o his une al. The e is no indica ion o any
se ious con on a ion wi h he a he ha may ha e p o oked Lola’s depa u e, al hough
his dep ession a e becoming a widowe back in 1970 may ha e some ela ion wi h
Lola’s decision o lea e: “Dende o de miña nai nunca quixo sabe de ninguén e le ou a
súa mágoa a a o cadalei o” [Since ha abou my mo he , he ne e wan ed o know abou
anyone else and ook his g ie wi h him o he co in] (35). The elusi eness abou he
mo i a ion o he depa u e is complica ed owa ds he end o he s o y on he occasion
o one u he encoun e be ween Lola and he man who had been he boy iend be o e
she wen ab oad: “Lola, uches cunha bolsa de o og a ía a Pa ís po es meses e diso hai
xa dezase e anos” [Lola, you le o Pa is wi h a h ee-mon h pho og aphy g an , and i ’s
been se en een yea s since hen] (47). The p o agonis is he e e ealed as a dis essed
cha ac e who was once o n be ween lo e and he deep- el awa eness ha she would
ne e e u n home o s ay.
Rosi B aido i has iden i ied h ee possible igu a ions o women’s mobili y, wo
o which a e explo ed in he analysis as me apho ical— he exile and he nomad— while
he hi d one is empi ical — he mig an (1992). The exile co esponds o women’s
disa ec ion wi h he na ion and is illus a ed wi h a quo a ion om Vi ginia Wool ’s
essay Th ee Guineas: “[…] as a woman, I ha e no coun y. As a woman I wan no
coun y. As a woman my coun y is he whole wo ld” (Wool 1992: 313). Nei he is
B aido i sa is ied wi h his no ion o he “plane a y exile” (1992: 8), because she ea s i
may simply be an e asi e ac ic no o ackle he un esol ed ela ionship o he woman
wi h he na ion, no does he p o agonis o Anei os’ s o y seem o i his ca ego y o he
exile, because she does no exp ess such disa ec ion o he na ion o o he social,
poli ical o economic condi ions ha he na ion p o ides. B aido i e e s o mig an s as
mainly hose “‘domes ic o eigne s’ o Eu opean indus ial me opolises” (ibid.: 9). The
philosophe claims ha i is wi h hese mig an s, and in pa icula wi h emale immig an s,
ha eminism needs o es ablish a dialogue, bo h in o de o s op he inc ease o
xenophobia and “na ionalis ic neo- ascis ideologies ac oss Eu ope” (ibid.: 9) in he la e
wen ie h cen u y, and o ex end mig an s’ igh s o ci izenship and p omo e hei
in ellec ual po en ial. Lola’s is no a case o o ced emig a ion, ei he o economic o
poli ical easons and, in his sense, “mig an ” is no he e m ha bes de ines he
ci cums ances. The ca ego y ha p obably i s he cha ac e o Lola bes is ha o
“nomad”, which B aido i explains as ollows: “The nomad has no home o s a o om
o o go back o” (ibid.: 8). The philosophe d aws on Gilles Deleuze’s wo k on nomadic
hinking, which consis s in he con inuous c ossing o bounda ies ega dless o he
des ina ion and which B aido i applies o in e na ional ne wo king o p opaga e eminis
esis ance.
The p o agonis o Anei os’ s o y was s ill young when she el impelled o lea e
home and he op ion o e e e u ning home was dismissed om he s a . I is no un il
he end o he s o y ha he des ina ion o he i s a el is e ealed. We a e old ha ,
while ab oad, Lola p og essed om o al dep i a ion o becoming a success ul ashion
pho og aphe and hen a bold wa co esponden , bu hese accomplishmen s ha e no
quenched he hi s o u he explo a ions o mo e emo e, soli a y and inaccessible
egions. The s o y ends wi h he de e mina ion o cu e he in e nal wounds by wo king as
a pho og aphe o oceanic dep hs: “Nunha osa abisal do Pací ico en a ao a a o ema e
dos empos” [In a Paci ic abyssal ench she will s i e o i un il he end o ime] (50).
Lola is no he only cha ac e in he s o y who once wished o lea e he illage. In
he sho ime o he na a ion, a leas wo o he cha ac e s a ow hey ha e conside ed
ha op ion, one o hem being p ecisely Remedios, Lola’s godmo he , he woman who
pushed he o lea e. On mee ing Lola, Remedios emembe s he you h lo e o an animal
ame o an i ine an ci cus. The old woman has been e isi ing ha memo y o se en y
yea s in an a emp o jus i y he decision o s ay: “Qué e ía pasado cando a gue a, qué
e ía pasado no es anxei o, qué e ía pasado no in e no… qué e ía acon ecido se i ese
alo pa a sabelo” [wha would ha e happened when he wa came, wha would ha e
happened in o eign lands, wha would ha e happened in win e … wha would ha e
happened i only she had had he cou age o know i ] (38). In his case, as in many o he s
in bo h sho s o y compila ions, ailing o lea e is con igu ed as a momen o ea and
cowa dice, as a momen o pa alysis simila o ha James Joyce makes his p o agonis
E eline go h ough in he eponymous s o y om Dubline s (1914). Nine een-yea -old
E eline inally gi es up lea ing o A gen ina wi h he dea sailo —ano he nomadic
occupa ion— and emains in Dublin wi h he abusi e a he . Remedios could be seen as
an elde ly igu a ion o E eline, as she s uggles o mask he eg e wi h commonsensical
hinking. Joyce’s s o y ends wi h young E eline o n be ween he amily du ies and he
g a i ude o he lo e : “Could she s ill d aw back a e all he had done o he ?” (1992:
33-34) E eline’s and Remedios’ pa alysis could be explained on conside ing ha hei
espec i e depa u es in ol e sha ing hei li es wi h a ela i ely unknown man. E eline
mus choose be ween a li e wi h an abusi e a he and one wi h a sec e and un eliable
lo e who akes he o see The Bohemian Gi l and ells he “s o ies o he e ible
Pa agonians” (ibid.: 32).
Lola, on he con a y, lea es alone and when he childhood iend Lau a con esses
he desi e o also lea e he illage and asks abou he expe iences a ound he wo ld, Lola
e uses o ei he encou age o dissuade he : “Nunca e íes do que digan os demais. Tes
que buscalo soa po que non hai quen aga ese camiño po i” [Ne e us wha o he s
say. You mus ind you own way because nobody will do i o you] (44). Lola ac ually
gi es up a signi ican lo e ela ionship so as o li e a li e o he own, al hough she also
pays a p ice o he ha d-won independence: “As bágoas en ódolos ae opo os po que
ninguén es á a aga dala; as ca as de amo nunca en iadas” [Tea s a all he ai po s
because nobody is wai ing o he ; lo e le e s ne e sen ] (49). To mo e beyond he
amilia and he well-known and o en u e in o he unknown, he o eign and he s ange
equi es a esolu e de e mina ion ha does no lea e anyone unsca hed.
O special impo o he p esen analysis is Rosi B aido i’s con ic ion ha
“di e ences become he s u communica ion is made o , ins ead o ac ing as majo
di ide s” (1992: 10). Di e ence is wha Lola will undoub edly ind as a wa pho og aphe
a ound he wo ld, co e ing a la ge a ie y o con lic s in all con inen s. The i ewo ks o
he illage es i i y igge memo ies o bomb explosions ha sugges a kind o pos -
auma ic s ess diso de ha , al hough o a e y di e en deg ee, ecalls he auma
su e ed by Sep imus Wa en Smi h in Vi ginia Wool ’s M s Dalloway — he WWI
soldie o whom he daily noises o London p o oke a men al b eakdown (1992: 98). The
hi d-pe son na a o in Anei os’ s o y in e spe ses memo ies o bomb blas s wi h he
noises o he local celeb a ion, he eby e ealing a ho endous lis o con lic s ha Lola
has egis e ed wi h he came a:
Non consegue a as a dos miolos o e o dos es oupidos en Iaka a, e as
bombas en Bagdad, e as se eas en Xe usalén […] O i o eo en México D.F.,
un au obús queimado en F ee own, ba icadas no Uls e […] A masac e no
colexio de Hous on, o eguei o de cadá e es inmolados dunha sec a de
F ancia, as ioladas de Koso a, as ioladas de Koso a, as ioladas de
Koso a… elas (41)
[She does no manage o keep o he mind he e o o he explosions in
Jaka a, and he bombs in Bagdad, and he si ens in Je usalem […] The
shoo ing in Mexico DF, a bu n bus in F ee own, ba icades in Uls e […] The
massac e a a school in Hous on, he o en o immola ed co pses om a sec
in F ance, he aped women in Koso o, he aped women in Koso o, he aped
women in Koso o… hose women]
Whe he o a poli ical, e hnical o a eligious na u e, hese ac s o iolence lea e a deep
imp in on Lola’s mind. Li e a y auma s udies aim o iden i y he linguis ic aces o
auma (Ha man 2003) and one could a gue ha he abo e quo ed passage ea u es some
o hese aces: he de ailed enume a ion o he na u e o he a acks and o he place
names, he shi om he noises and objec s o he ic ims, and he inal insis ence on he
emale ic ims om Koso o. The encoun e wi h he ic ims o such unb idled iolence
a ouses he p o agonis ’s sel -ques ioning abou he ole as a pho og aphe and e inces
he acknowledgemen o he powe lessness:
A anca ía o p opio b azo pa a non e que e aqueles olliños de mel insípida
pola ame e a indixencia. […] Pe o ela é o óg a a. O seu b azo en que ale
pa a ansmi i unha imaxe ó mundo […] e, seis meses despois de supe a
a ancos bu oc á icos, bomba dea con ca o caixas de papas pa a millei os de
pe soas. A a en ón non en nada que o ece lle. Nin seque a a espe anza da
chegada dos a ións nese pes ilen o éxodo ca a a ningu es (40)
[She would ea he own a m so as no o ha e o see hose li le honey eyes
u ned insipid due o hunge and des i u ion. […] Bu she is a pho og aphe .
He a m mus be used o communica e an image o he wo ld […] and, six
mon hs a e su moun ing bu eauc a ic ba ie s, d opping ou boxes wi h
po a oes o housands o people. E en hen she has no hing o o e o he
child. No e en he hope ha he planes will a i e du ing ha pes ilen ial
exodus owa ds nowhe e].
This is he dialogue s imula ed by he encoun e wi h di e ence: a dialogue ha esul s
om indi idual ace- o- ace encoun e s and one ha assesses one’s esponsibili ies and
limi a ions. Likewise, i is a dialogue ha clea ly iden i ies he ic ims and makes
sup ana ional ins i u ions accoun able o hei ailu e o b ing hem succou . Lola admi s
he ela i e powe lessness bu he pho og aphs and Anei os’ na a ion o he li e unc ion
as cons an eminde s o eal his o ical con lic s a ound he wo ld, hei pe pe a o s and
hei ic ims.
Hyb idi ies
Rosa Anei os’ “Lola” can be in e es ingly compa ed wi h I ia Collado López’s
“Meghalaya” om he compila ion O lib o dos ens (2019). The la e is a s o y old by
a i s -pe son na a o —wi h he deg ee o immediacy bu also pa iali y ha his usually
en ails— who s a s he accoun by saying she has been a elling o wo yea s. Howe e ,
he a el is soon e ealed o be o a e y peculia ype, as she seems o be escaping om
some si ua ion ha emains an enigma o a while: “Des íxenme da male a e son quen de
wi h con lic s o a colonial eno be ween a Spanish o Cas ilian dominan g oup and he
Galician subal e n popula ion, al hough he e is no sca ci y o e e ences o he s a egies
o in e io iza ion deployed by dominan Spanish-speaking g oups in Galicia which ha e
been ende ed in sund y li e a y gen es, bu he epe oi e o women-au ho ed sho
ic ion abou his speci ic con lic is s ill limi ed. Domínguez, Saussy and Villanue a
a i m: “By compa ing we build sense, o compa ison is a cogni i e ope a ion, and a
connec ion be ween a leas wo elemen s ans o ms bo h elemen s” (2015: xi). In he
pa icula case o he sho ic ion discussed in his sec ion, he compa ison, besides
e ealing simila i ies, exposes gaps and discon inui ies ha become all he mo e eloquen
p ecisely because o hei unob usi eness. Mo eo e , Jo ge Sacido and Lau a Lojo ha e
d awn a en ion o he adi ional dismissi eness owa ds women’s s o y elling, o en
ega ded as “old wi es’ ales”, ha in i s in e sec ion o gende and gen e has become a
o midable obs acle o he c ea ion, publica ion and ecep ion o women’s sho ic ion
(2018: 1).

I.3. Us & Them in he Con empo a y I ish and Galician No el
1.3.1. “The e is no ‘us’”: E elyn Conlon’s No he Same Sky
I ish Diaspo as
T a el, whe he o ced o olun a y, is one o he mos p opi ious si ua ions o he
encoun e be ween us and hem and he subsequen in e oga ion o bo h ca ego ies. In
he case o I eland, emig a ion has become a cons i u i e ea u e o I ish iden i y and he
cu en descendan s o I ish emig an s a ound he wo ld amoun o millions:
I ish demog aphics e eal wo s a ling ac s: The e a e a ound 70 million
people wo ldwide who claim I ish descen , and I eland oday has ba ely hal
he popula ion ha i had 160 yea s ago, a decline unma ched in he mode n
wo ld. These ac s a e explained and connec ed by he undeniable social
eali y o nine een h-cen u y I eland —emig a ion. (Hackney and Hackney
Blackwell 2007: 150)
Te ms such as “emig a ion”, “exile” and “diaspo a”, each en ailing di e en conno a ions
and ci cums ances, ha e, howe e , o en been used in e changeably bo h by he displaced
people and by commen a o s on I ish mig a ion lows (Delaney 2006: 35-38). Al hough
emig a ion has been a widely acknowledged ac among I ish people, he go e nmen o
he I ish Republic seems o ha e been eluc an o inco po a e i s diaspo a as an in eg al
pa o he I ish communi y, as i doing so we e a ecogni ion o he s a e’s ailu e in
p o iding o i s ci izens (Muldowney 2012, Delaney 2006: 38-40). An a emp o ed ess
his gla ing omission ook place wi h P esiden Ma y Robinson’s speech “Che ishing he
I ish Diaspo a”, in 1995, when she del ed in o he ele ance o emig a ion o he no ion
o I ishness:
I we expec ha he mi o held up o us by I ish communi ies ab oad will
show us a single amilia iden i y, o a pu e s ain o I ishness, we will be
disappoin ed. We will o e look he ascina ing di e si y o cul u e and choice
which looks back a us. Abo e all we will miss he chance o ha e ha
dialogue wi h ou own di e si y which his e lec ion o e s us. (pa . 8)
Acco ding o D.A.J. MacPhe son and Ma y J. Hickman, he subs an ial ad ance b ough
abou by his new a en ion o he I ish diaspo a is i s ede ini ion o na ional iden i y and
belonging, which is now “based on di e si y, mul iple a ilia ions and mul i-loca ed
iden i ica ions” (2014: 1). This chap e will analyse he no el No he Same Sky (2013),
by he I ish w i e E elyn Conlon, wi h he aim o iden i y he a ious con igu a ions o
iden i y p oduced in he p ocess o displacemen om I eland and adap a ion o he
ecei ing socie y in Aus alia. The i le o he no el i sel includes he no ions o
di e ence and sameness as an a owal ha bo h con ibu e o each o he ’s signi ica ion.
The mig an s in his no el, which is based on a ue his o ical e en , a e a g oup among
he 4,414 o phan gi ls shipped o Aus alia by he B i ish go e nmen du ing he yea s o
he I ish Famine in he la e 1840s. The mos equen ange o hese gi ls’ ages wen om
six een o eigh een yea s old, and hey we e especially ulne able bo h because hey we e
o phans and because hey had su e ed se e e s a a ion. The no el o en poses he
ques ion abou he gi ls’ capaci y o choose he cou ses o hei li es in his si ua ion o
anspo a ion when, in ac , he al e na i e o s aying in I eland en ailed se ious isks o
hei su i al and no adul ela i e could assume esponsibili y o hem. Conlon also
makes one o he cha ac e s ques ion he e m “ e ugees om The G ea I ish Famine”
b anded on he gi ls, when in u h hey we e “p isone s, gi l-sla es” (Conlon 2013: 238)
who, upon hei a i al in Aus alia, we e assigned o he a ious mas e s who needed
emale wo ke s, a si ua ion in which, once mo e, he gi ls had no say.13 E elyn Conlon’s
No he Same Sky is, he e o e, a pe ec illus a ion o Ellen McWilliams’ asse ion ha
con empo a y I ish ic ion is eco e ing he s o y o he I ish emale emig an , a s o y ha
used o be unde ep esen ed bo h in his o ical accoun s and in li e a u e on mig a ion
(2013: 2). The a en ion paid o I ish mig an s in Aus alia also con ibu es o ed ess he
balance in accoun s o he I ish diaspo a wo ldwide, as he e has been a p edominan
sc u iny o I ish immig an s in Ame ica.
The his o ian Ma ga e Kellehe , a specialis in I ish women’s p edicamen
h ough he G ea I ish Famine, has desc ibed Conlon’s no el as an “a ec i e and
e ec i e li e a y ep esen a ion o his o y” (2023: 111). Apa om a e y in o ma i e
discussion o a ious con o e sies a ound amine memo ials like he one ha a icula es
he plo o Conlon’s no el, Kellehe u ns o Sa a Ahmed’s heo y o a ec s o discuss
he emo ions, such as shame, guil o ange , ha a e igge ed by he knowledge o pas
auma ic e en s. Fu he mo e, Kellehe pays a en ion o hose na a i e de ices in he
no el which p oblema ize his o ical knowledge, as happens wi h he use o ime shi s,
pa ial ocaliza ion and modal e bs ha “ o eg ound he limi a ions o any na a i e
e o ” (ibid: 119) and a oid he s anda diza ion o auma na a i es.
The Colonial Con lic
In he 1840s, I eland was pa o he Uni ed Kingdom o G ea B i ain and I eland, as a
esul o he Ac o Union ha came in o e ec in 1801 wi h he aim o su oca e I ish
esis ance o B i ish colonial powe . Conlon’s no el aises he issue o he colonize ’s
esponsibili y in bo h he amines and he schemes designed o ind a solu ion o he
p oblem o so many o phans p eca iously accommoda ed in wo khouses in which disease
and dea h we e ampan . The no el he e o e s a s by p esen ing a clea opposi ion
be ween he colonized I ish and he colonizing B i ish wi h a hi d-pe son na a o ’s poin
o iew ha is clea ly sympa he ic o he I ish o deal:
The esul ing slow chaos g ew wo se un il his hunge could no longe be
igno ed. In London many people spen ime hinking abou wha o do. This
may ha e included deciding o do no hing, o deciding wha no o do, o
deciding o pu hese hough s o he back o minds, whe e hey could no
in e e e wi h London li e. (7)
The e en ual decision is o send he o phan gi ls o Aus alia, whe e a numbe o penal
colonies we e un in he eigh een h and nine een h cen u ies and whe e I ish ebels agains
he B i ish colonize we e also anspo ed o, he eby elici ing some analogies be ween
he con ic s and he gi ls h oughou he no el: al hough he gi ls ha e commi ed no
13 All quo a ions om No he Same Sky a e he ea e aken om he Wake ield P ess 2013 edi ion and only
page numbe s a e gi en.
c ime, one may say hey a e “ anspo ed” o he colony, gi en hei impossibili y o
choose any o he cou se o li e; he gi ls a e accommoda ed in he same ba acks ha had
been used o con ic s; some o he o me con ic s will become he mas e s o hese
se an gi ls; one o he gi ls inally inds he mo he , an ex-con ic , ali e. The colonial
si ua ion in I eland is somehow eplica ed in Aus alia as he sons o o me landlo ds
become se le s in Aus alia and pe pe ua e hei exploi a ion o I ish people.
The no el No he Same Sky is di ided in o hi y- i e chap e s, in addi ion o a
p ologue se in 2008 ha does no p o ide he au ho ’s s a emen o in en ions o any
con ex ual in o ma ion, as is mos o en he case in o ewo ds, bu is ac ually a ic ional
chap e ha in oduces he subjec -ma e o he no el h ough a le e sen om Aus alia
o Joy Kennedy, a emale sculp o o g a es ones li ing in I eland. The le e in o ms o
he p ojec o build, in Aus alia, a memo ial “ o he 4414 Famine O phan Gi ls who we e
shipped he e o Aus alia be ween 1848 and 1850” (2) and in i es Joy o be he
s onemason o ha memo ial. Memo y will be a key heme in his no el as descendan s
o he o phans and he anspo ed p o agonis s hemsel es pe sis en ly s uggle o come
o e ms wi h hei pas and p esen ci cums ances. The pas is cons i u i e o hei
iden i ies and ye li le is known abou i o abou hem. In he p esiden ial speech abo e
men ioned, Ma y Robinson ac ually e e ed o commemo a ion as a mo al ac :
The weigh o he pas , he esea ches o ou local in e p e e s and he s a o
he ememb ance o he amine all, in my iew, poin us owa ds a single
eali y: ha commemo a ion is a mo al ac , jus as ou ela ion in his coun y
o hose who ha e le i is a mo al ela ionship. (pa . 15)
The P esiden o I eland is he e appealing o wha Jose ina Cues a calls “his o ical
memo y”, i.e., a na ion’s use o he pas , and no jus an indi idual use (2014: 31). The e
is an o he ness o he o phan gi ls’ pas ha may well be a mani es a ion o auma, as all
he cha ac e s, hough haun ed by a pas ha hey canno le go, make use o di e en
s a egies o supp ess i . To he Memo ial Commi ee, o med by descendan s o he
anspo ed gi ls — he o al numbe o hei descendan s is calcula ed o be a ound one
million— and o Joy Kennedy, he s onemason, he gi ls a e “ hey”, igu es o a auma ic
pas . Joy, in pa icula , a ows he igno ance abou he gi ls’ o deal: “I’ e ne e hea d o
hem, ha e you?” (3). The ollowing wen y-nine chap e s will ell he s o y o he gi ls
h ough he second hal o he nine een h cen u y and he las six chap e s will close he
no el by e u ning o Joy Kennedy, in 2008, and he ans o ma i e ip o Aus alia o
inqui e abou he memo ial p ojec and he o phan gi ls’ li e s o ies.
Gende Ma e s
The no el uses he e m “gi ls”, al hough in some cases hese o phans we e as old as
wen y yea s o age. Al hough he e m migh isk in an ilizing hem all, i is used
h oughou he no el o e e o hese dispa ched emales who, in some cases, we e as
young as ou een. Age and gende a e impo an ac o s since eade s ge o know how
he gi ls cope wi h he changes in hei bodies as hey g ow. Some ha e hei i s
mens ua ion while hey a e on he ship, bu nobody has old hem why o how his
happens: “She’s bleeding o dea h. Look a he blanke . Rose La kin’s dying” (91). E en
when old by olde gi ls o by he ma ons hemsel es, he e is a pe sis en aboo abou
his opic: “[ he ma on] did no wan he younge ones o know be o e hey needed o”
(92). The ba acks whe e hey a e exhibi ed o hei hi ing ha e no p o ision o
women’s acili ies and he gi ls ha e o hide “ hei sani a y ags unde he loo boa ds”
(238). Fu he mo e, he gi ls’ s a ed bodies had no g own p ope ly, and he no el
in o ms us o acciden s in hei p egnancies because hei bones a e weake han he baby
in he u e us: “[…] he p e alence o spon aneous symphysio omies a bi h, he babies
ha ing g own s onge han he weak pel ises o he gi l s a ed a a c ucial bone-making
ime o he li e” (235). Gende is an impo an ac o ha has o en been neglec ed in
mig a ion s udies, bu I ish mig a ion lows e ince he conspicuous p esence o
emig a ing women, whe he single, ma ied o widows, a elling accompanied o , mo e
o en han one migh expec , alone. Acco ding o B eda G ay, “[women] emig a ed in
g ea e numbe s han men in mos decades since he mid-nine een h cen u y and le
mainly as single women a he han as pa o a amily” (2004: 1). Thei ole in he
economic g ow h o he social g oups ha hey we e pa o also needs u he s udy by
he social sciences. Conlon’s no el, he e o e, con ibu es, hanks o i s li e a y ec ea ion
o he expedi ion o he o phan gi ls, o a be e unde s anding o emale emig a ion om
I eland and dissemina es ac ual in o ma ion abou he I ish amines and hei e ec on
mig a ion lows.
One decisi e issue ha is aised now and hen in he no el is he deg ee o consen
o choice allowed o he gi ls in hei anspo a ion. O en e e ed o as “ca go” o he
ships o ca y and deli e , hei human agency and pe sonal au onomy o choose he
p ojec s hey would wish o pu sue is d as ically cu ailed. S a a ion and he c amped
condi ions o he wo khouses ha shel e hem also es ic hei capaci y o choose. The
ma on o he wo khouse calls he names o he gi ls she hinks may be i o endu e he
oyage and in o ms hem she will la e ask hem “i hey wan o go” (19). A na a o
using ee indi ec discou se speaks he gi ls’ minds:
They wan ed o li e on a pa ch o land nea by, o g ow po a oes, o u nips
e en, and o he p oduce o pay he en . They didn’ wan o be alking abou
places wi h names like Ame ica, whe e aun s and uncles and cousins had gone,
and now Aus alia, which some said was in he opposi e di ec ion, and u he
away. (20)
Ce ainly, he possibili y o ea and su i e, as well as ha o ha ing a job a e he
de ini i e and pe suasi e a gumen s o he gi ls o accep he scheme despi e he
eno mous pain o lea ing hei siblings, hei I ish whe eabou s, and hei memo ies o a
pas , happie childhood be o e he po a o plagues o 1845, 1846 and 1848.
Sameness and Di e ence
Apa om he us- hem opposi ion ega ding he con lic be ween he B i ish colonize s
ha o ganize his scheme and he I ish colonized ha a e sen o he peni en ia y colony
o Aus alia, he anspo a ion o he gi ls ecu en ly aises compa isons and con as s
be ween he amilia i y o I eland as home and he unce ain y and s angeness o
Aus alia as he des ina ion land. The no el ocuses on one oyage, ha o he ship
Thomas A bu hno , which depa s om Plymou h on 28 Oc obe 1849 unde he
su eillance o a su geon-supe in enden , he Englishman Cha les Edwa d S u , in
cha ge o deli e ing ali e he ca go o a ound wo hund ed o phan gi ls in Sidney h ee
mon hs la e . Tha he gi ls should each Aus alia ali e was no a simple mission, since
many ships we e o e c owded, and he al eady weak mig an s go c i ically ill o died
because o he bad sani a ion and inadequa e ood on he ships. In emula ion o he sla e y
ships ha ca ied A ican sla es o he New Con inen , hose ha anspo ed he diseased
I ish we e also called “co in ships”. The mig an s who did no die du ing he oyage
we e likely o do so upon a i al, du ing he qua an ine pe iods, o in he con inua ion o
hei jou neys o he inal des ina ion (Hackney and Hackney Blackwell 2007: 154-155).
The na a o ’s selec i e omniscience will gi e special a en ion o a ew gi ls in
o de o p esen a a ie y o pe sonali ies and coping s a egies: Hono a Ra e y, Anne
She y, Julia Cu e and B idge Joyce. O he ou , Hono a Ra e y is he cha ac e o be
explo ed in mo e de ail in he no el and may be iden i ied as he p o agonis . She will
also p o e o be he one wi h he s onges a achmen o he childhood memo ies and he
homeland. Fo his eason, he na a o del es in o he obus amily bonds which, in spi e
o he humble means, we e suppo i e o all he amily membe s and neighbou s and we e
deeply ing ained in he e nacula language and cul u e. Hono a’s mo he used o know
he B ehon laws, which cons i u ed he legal sys em o Cel ic I eland and egula ed issues
as mul i a ious as land dispu es, he , o ma iage, bu also ins uc ed in he ca e o ees
and animals. The child en lea n o ead and w i e in I ish bu also lea n English a school.
Wi h he onse o he po a o ailu es, neighbou s and membe s o he amily began o
emig a e o Ame ica and, inally, Hono a’s pa en s died, which is he eason why he gi l
ended up in a wo khouse. On he ship, Hono a becomes a s o y elle , like he a he . When
she eaches he des ina ion in Aus alia and he su geon-supe in enden asks wha she
would like o ha e, she answe s: “ ‘I’d like a dic iona y […] and a map,’ she added,
emembe ing he shape o he home” (109).
Among Hono a’s coping s a egies o deal wi h he unce ain y o he u u e and
he ea o he unknown a e he esigna ion and de e mina ion o su i e. On hea ing
incomp ehensible accen s on he ha bou o Plymou h, Hono a’s esol e is ende ed by
he na a o h ough ee indi ec discou se: “Bu no hing was amilia . Bu i didn’
ma e . E e y hing did no ha e o be amilia , she had lea ned ha since lea ing Dublin,
hi y-six hou s ago, o was i longe ?” (36). Li le by li le, Hono a lea ns o ake
o eignness in he s ide, al hough she does so a a high pe sonal cos . The compa isons
be ween he e, on he ship, and he e, back in I eland, help in he ansi ion, so when
Cha les S u , he supe in enden in cha ge o he gi ls, alks abou s a ing a school on
he ship, Anne She y emembe s he I ish hedge schools: “Well, my mo he wen o a
hedge school, maybe i will be like ha ” (54). Hedge schools we e allegedly clandes ine
because o he B i ish Penal Laws o 1695, which banned he schooling o Ca holics in
I eland. The mos poignan bond be ween he ship a sea and I eland is ha concei ed by
Hono a abou sha ing wi h he emaining siblings in I eland he same sky no ma e whe e
she wen :
She wan ed o belie e his was he same sky ha was o e he home she had
jus glimpsed on he map, he one she had been aken om and would ne e
see again. Tha became clea he mo e days passed. Who could e e come
back om so a ? I she could belie e i was he same sky su ely ha would
help. (58)

The shock will come, howe e , when she is la e old ha he cons ella ions seen in
Aus alia and in I eland a e no he same because o he change o hemisphe e. This
dis essing ealiza ion is de ly summa ized in he i le o he no el, No he Same Sky.
Simila i ies be ween he new su oundings and I eland some imes come up in
unexpec ed si ua ions and help o o ge new a achmen s, as when Hono a looks a he
dese ed houses in he des ina ion place and emembe s he home back in I eland, he one
he child en had o abandon when hei pa en s died: “Bu Hono a could like hese
houses”, he na a o in o ms us (114). Likewise, one yea a e he a i al, Hono a inds
a man who, she hinks, looks like he a he , al hough “he didn’ smell like he a he . He
didn’ speak like he a he ” (148) and will accep him as husband.
Ne e heless, i comes as no su p ise ha he di e ences in Aus alia su pass any
a emp s by he gi ls o es ablish compa isons: landscape, plan s, animals, people, ood,
e c. hold he o phan gi ls in awe: yellow g ass, whi e ees, no hedges, d y us , shadows
alling di e en ly, ba s, kanga oos, bi ds o spec acula plumage, hey will all amaze he
gi ls and challenge hem o elinquish any analogies. Close o he end o he li e, Hono a
will a ow he un ailing ma elling a he splendou s o plan and animal li e in Aus alia.
Iden i y-as-pa ame e and Iden i y-as-limi
Once on he Thomas A bu hno , he gi ls a e ins uc ed o sha e sleeping slo s, o ake
ca e o one ano he when seasick, and hey a e o ganized in couples so ha he mos
ma u e gi ls ake esponsibili y owa ds he younge ones, as in he g oups o classes,
whe e he weake s uden s a e guided by he s onge ones. Toge he , hey also make a
quil o be o e ed o he su geon-supe in enden a he end o he oyage. The quil is a
common ope o eminine collabo a i e wo k, and he na a o explains he con inuous
nego ia ions and social skills ha go in o i s making:
Gi ls who had wan ed o be dogma ic abou he way hei mo he s had done i
had gi en up. Ei he hey had ealised ha e e yone was en i led o do hei
squa e —e en i some o hem we e une en and pe haps ma ed he o e all
look— o else hey had decided ha hei desi e o he g ea es colou s and
ma ches would ha e o wai un il hey we e doing hei own in hei new home.
(89)
These common ac i i ies c ea e a sense o communi y, dependence and mu ual suppo
ha will o m a new collec i e iden i y o he o phan gi ls: ha o “us”. The cha ac e s
will la e aise he issue o whe he his collec i e iden i y eally exis s o whe he hey
a e jus a he e ogeneous g oup o e y di e en indi iduals. Be o e dying, Hono a w i es
a le e and lea es ins uc ions o one o he sons o gi e i o he o he o phan gi ls he
may manage o ga he o he une al. In his le e she main ains ha he o phan gi ls did
o m a communi y in spi e o he ac ha , upon a i al in Aus alia, hey we e sca e ed
and dis ibu ed in di e en owns, homes, and businesses:
Te esa says ha he e is no “us”. She says ha o see he 4000 o us as “one”,
is nonsense. And ye i was she who old me 4000 —I had no known ha
numbe […] I was old in Ryan’s ha hey had a deba e in he London
Pa liamen abou “us”. I p o es ha we a e one. And ou names a e all
oge he in an o ice. (201)
In his book The E hics o Iden i y, he philosophe Kwame An hony Appiah makes he
dis inc ion be ween who we a e, ou indi iduali y, and wha we a e, ou iden i y (2005:
xi ). Iden i ies a e hen social o ms ha expe ience ensions be ween he alleged
homogenei y o he g oup and he singula , si ua ed sel es (ibid.: x ). Appiah is a i m
belie e in he ac ha he indi idual can and does li e wi h many loyal ies, and no jus
one o a single social o m (ibid.: 214). When Hono a indica es he ca ego y “us”, she is
s uggling agains obli ion and denial in an a emp o p ese e a communi y ha sha ed
he same auma and implemen ed s a egies o mu ual aid. This could co espond o wha
Appiah calls “iden i y as a pa ame e ”, which is he case when “ca ego ies designed o
subo dina ion can also be used o mobilize and empowe people as membe s o a sel -
a i ma i e iden i y” (ibid.: 112). On he con a y, Hono a’s iend, Te esa Fu ey, sees
he ca ego y “o phan gi ls” as a cons ain , an obs acle o lea ing auma behind and
mo ing on in li e. Appiah admi s ha iden i y-as-pa ame e and iden i y-as-limi ac ually
cons i u e a wo-way a ic and may easily coexis (ibid.: 112).
On conside ing he expe ience o he amines in I eland, he B i ish se le s in
Aus alia also ques ion he possibili y o a collec i e memo y o he I ish amine: “ ha
would p esume e e yone expe ienced i in he same way, which is ce ainly no ue”
(179). Tha he e should be he e ogenei y wi hin he a ec ed g oups is unde s andable
bu B i ish se le s ha e a es ed in e es in di ision in o de o elude esponsibili y o
he B i ish go e nmen ’s handling o he ca as ophe. Se le s hemsel es encou age
di isi e p ac ices also in banal si ua ions, as happens wi h he chalk line d awn on he
dancing loo so ha mas e s and se an s do no mix up (163). Con a y o hese di isi e
uses, some cul u al a i ac s, like Thomas Moo e’s nos algic melodies abou I eland’s
glo ious pas , en husias ically b ing he I ish oge he (184).
The Linguis ic Con lic
The linguis ic con lic de i ing om he B i ish coloniza ion o I eland also plays a ole
in he no el, al hough i is no a he o e on o he plo . One o he c i e ia o he
selec ion o he o phan gi ls is ha hey should speak English, which hey a e expec ed o
ha e lea n a school. Abou he mos de ian gi l in he g oup, Julia Cu e, he na a o
says: “She was good a English, could al eady swea in i ” (25), which necessa ily ecalls
Caliban’s e o o Mi anda in Shakespea e’s The Tempes , a play ha also del es in o he
p ac ices and e ec s o colonialism: “You augh me language, and my p o i on’ / Is ha
I know how o cu se. The ed plague id you / Fo lea ning me you language!” (I, ii, 365-
367). On ano he occasion, Julia Cu e also alks back o an o icial who has a di icul y
wi h he spelling o I ish names: “I can spell in my own ongue” (39).
Al hough he language con lic is no p ominen in his no el w i en in English,
he e nacula language, I ish Gaelic o Gaeilge —ano he e m o he I ish language—
is a imes bound o he gi ls’ I ish iden i y and o hei pas li es be o e he oyage,
he eby signi ying hei con lic i e dual iden i y. In ac , Hono a’s le e , which is o be
ead pos humously, begins wi h wo quo a ions, he second o which is om a well-known
poem by he I ish-language poe An hony Ra e y: “Mise Rai ei í an ile, Lán dóchas is
g á…” [I am Ra e y he poe , ull o hope and lo e] (200). I is no only he coincidence
in he las names o he poe and he p o agonis ha calls he eade ’s a en ion bu he
dominan mood o hei ex s, bo h w i en a he end o a li e’s long jou ney. In he le e ,
Hono a wan s o come o e ms wi h he supp essed pas and, he I ish quo a ion sugges s,
wi h he supp essed e nacula language as well.
The English language will accen ua e he o phan gi ls’ sense o o eignness, as
hey associa e he language lea n a school, wi h ha lea n on he ship and used in
Aus alia (141), he eby connec ing he colonizing language wi h he auma ic
expe iences li ed. Howe e , e en i he I ish language lea n and spoken a home, wi h
amily and neighbou s, has posi i e emo ional a achmen s in he no el, he English
language is ha which acili a es emig a ion, escaping om he amines and, hence,
su i al, which e inces he pa adoxical wo kings o colonialism.
The loss o I ish, no jus among he mig an s bu also in hei homeland because
o i s speake s’ dea h o emig a ion, also akes i s emo ional oll, as we see in he case o
B idge Joyce, who a ibu es he mise able s a e in pa o he English language: “And
I’m i ed o speaking English all he ime, he e’s no es om i ” (124). Losing hei I ish
is also associa ed in he no el wi h he gi ls’ loss, o e en cancella ion, o hei pas and
he concomi an ouble o hei sel -iden i y: “They migh , oo, ha e los he language
o ell he s o y” (244).
Xenophobia and Racism
Cha les S u , he English su geon-supe in enden in cha ge o he gi ls, soon becomes
mo e conce ned o hei heal h and well-being han anybody else in he anspo a ion
scheme o he ex en ha he s a s o hink o hem as “his” gi ls (47). Re ealingly enough,
his conce n o hem su ges on eading abou he xenophobic eac ions hey awake in
Aus alia: “[one newspape edi o ] pou ed sco n on e e y hing abou hese newly landed
gi ls: hei place o o igin, hei belie s, hei ongue, e en hei looks” (46). This i iolic
eac ion illus a es he amalgam o di e en ma ks o iden i y —na ionali y, eligion,
language and physical appea ance— exhibi ed by xenophobic discou se. Ma y Daly
simila ly highligh s he way many accoun s o I ish emale emig a ion a e “ eple e wi h
gende , eligious and acial discou se” (2014: 19). To he jou nalis ’s aliena ing “ hem”,
Cha les S u esponds by commi ing himsel o he imp o emen o “his” gi ls wi h
naï e en husiasm: “He would also eed hem and build hem up. They would be g a e ul
o hei aining, i would make hei li es be e when hey go he e […] A his poin
in his e usi e plans, he gi ls became his. No he, no hose, bu his” (emphasis in he
o iginal, 46-47).
Xenos-phobia, o ea o he s ange , can be mixed up wi h acism —
disc imina ion on he basis o physical, biological ea u es— e en among whi e people,
as was he case in Aus alia. The B i ish Empi e, on claiming whi eness o he English
only, concomi an ly iden i ied a se o “in e io ” aces, pa icula ly in e e ence o he
I ish, who had been animalized and acialized since he Renaissance and, in he second
hal o he nine een h cen u y, we e included in an “index o Nig escence” and iden i ied
as sha ing A icanoid ea u es (Ashc o & G i i hs & Ti in 2007: 184). The e o e, when
he gi ls’ looks a e men ioned by Aus alian jou nalis s, i may be, no jus because o
hei malnu i ion o poo clo hes, bu also because o acialized, exclusiona y p ejudices.
The e m “Black I ish” has been used h oughou cen u ies o e e o ei he immig an o
emig an g oups bu was pa icula ly common o cha ac e ize hose who le I eland
because o he mid-nine een h-cen u y amines (I ish Cen al S a 2022). Con a y o
his, and pa adoxical hough i may seem, B eda G ay in o ms ha in Aus alia, New
Zealand and Sou h A ica, I ish women we e sough o “b eed an indigenous whi e
popula ion” (G ay 2004: 176). Racism, he e o e, did ope a e in bo h an i he ical ways:
on he one hand, o exclude I ish immig an s by “da kening” hem and, on he o he , o
app op ia e hem so as o “whi en” he colony’s popula ion s ock.
Se le s and Abo iginal Peoples
Conce ned as i is wi h he o phan gi ls’ oyage and li es in Aus alia, he no el No he
Same Sky pays li le a en ion o he Aus alian Abo iginal peoples bu , al hough ma ginal
in he na a i e, hey a e occasionally acknowledged as legi ima e, al hough dispossessed,
owne s o he land and as he mos knowledgeable ega ding he land and na u al isks.
The na a o ells, o ins ance, o a man o he Wi adju i people who escued dozens o
se le s du ing he Big Flood o 1852. Howe e , he indigenous popula ion and hei land
p ope y igh s a e no espec ed by he g eedy new se le s who ha e a i ed o plunde
he land and i s iches:
“Ah, Cha les, we’ e discussing na i e popula ions, wha o do abou hem.
You know, in heo y, we do no belie e ha Abo iginal land can be legally
possessed i i is occupied, bu p ac ice is ano he hing. […] I is no always
possible o ge a de ini i e ag eemen on wha cons i u es e a nullius”. (176-
177)
The new se le s main ain ha hey a e en i led o own e i o y ha is inhabi ed and used
by Abo iginal peoples, whose cus oma y p ope y igh s a e no ecognized. Hono a
Ra e y, howe e , al hough she is an unde p i ileged se le , ealizes ha he li le house
she has occupied upon ma iage is on somebody else’s land. She is awa e ha she was
once dispossessed o he own amily home in I eland and was, a e ha , displaced. Now,
no ma e how unwillingly, she is pa icipa ing in he colonial p ojec ha dispossesses
and displaces o he s:
The e’s a man a ound he e who wa ches me. He saw me be o e I saw him. He
was he e i s . I know wha he hinks o me. I wan o say o him ha I do no
wan o be in a house on his land, I ha e my own spo , e en i I canno ge o
i . […] When he saw us coming he s a ed, hen a e s a ing long enough he
hough ha maybe he could sha e wi h us, bu hen he ealised ha we didn’
wan o sha e, we wan ed o own. (202)
Hono a’s use o “us” he e does no simply e e o he newly o med amily uni , bu o
se le s in gene al, o whom she has become ano he membe . I is he encoun e wi h he
Abo iginal pe son ha eloca es he in a di e en g oup om ha o he I ish o phan gi ls
as “us”. Bo h senses o iden i y, he immig an unde dog and he s i ing se le coexis ,
and hey mani es hemsel es in he le e she has w i en h ough he use o he same
p onoun “us”. As Julia K is e a has ema ked, “jus because one is a o eigne does no
mean one is wi hou one’s o eigne ” (1991: 24). Thus, he Abo iginal peoples a e he
o eigne s o he o eigne s, i.e. hey a e doubly es anged.
T auma
In he analysis o a selec ion o wen y- i s -cen u y I ish no els con on ing auma ic
subjec s, Ka hleen Cos ello-Sulli an makes a dis inc ion be ween wen ie h-cen u y
pas , al hough possibly an idealized u u e as well, while he diaspo ic I does
wha i can, li ing he ime i has been assigned.
And how abou he possibili y ha he ep esen a ion, he pe o mance migh
be a means o iumph o e ha discon inui y, o yoke again he bi s ha ha e
emained sca e ed in di e en imes and places?]
This spli subjec i i y be ween he mig a ing I’s new li e and he pas li e expe ienced in
he homeland be o e depa u e is e y ap ly exp essed h ough a me onymical wis in he
i le o he no el as space is ende ed in empo al e ms and ice e sa: “A Veiga é como
un empo dis in o” [A Veiga is like a di e en ime]. The appa en simile ac ually con eys
he mig an ’s discon inui y wi h ega d o he i eco e able pas o he homeland.
Na a ological ins abili y
Apa om he cha ac e s’ sense o o eignness in London o A Veiga, and he mig an ’s
spli subjec i i y be ween pas and p esen sel es, we mus add he ins abili y o place and
ime cons ued h ough blu ed spa ial bounda ies, o en s e ched and dis o ed in a
highly subjec i e, e en su ealis ic, manne : “ […] aquela a de de Noi eboa, a p aia de
B igh on, o ímido sol inglés de xullo e agos o non pa ecía es a a apenas sesen a millas
de No ing Hill, senón lonxe, moi o máis lonxe cá Veiga, ma , mil ma es po medio” [ ha
a e noon o Ch is mas E e, he beach o B igh on, he shy English sun o July and Augus
did no seem o be ba ely six y miles om No ing Hill, bu a away, much u he han
A Veiga, beyond he sea, a housand seas] (50). The na a o ’s agonizing yea ning o
Elisa makes him lose he empo al and spa ial pa ame e s o he happy momen s he sha ed
wi h he . His despai des abilizes any sense o himsel , aliena ing him om his belo ed
and making him a s ange o himsel .
Likewise, in spi e o he punc ilious naming o speci ic places such as hose in he
i les o he chap e s ha ace Elisa’s whe eabou s —Po obello Road, Willesden G een,
Ox o d S ee , B igh on, Hamps ead, Ci y, Be hnal G een, C oydon, Miou, Wes mis e ,
Holloway— he e is a an alizing a oidance o e ms such as As u ias, As u ian, Galicia
o Galician in he no el. Ins ead, he na a o epea edly uses exp essions such as “da
e a” [ om he land] (15), “do país” [ om he coun y] (12), “ba de noso” [ba o ou s]
(9), “un dos nosos” [one o ou own] (24), e c. One wonde s whe he his eluc ance o
name he egion when, e en in F anco’s ime — he ime o he s o y— Galicia and
As u ias we e wo dis inc and ecognizable egions, may be ela ed o he liminal
Galician-As u ian iden i y o A Veiga. Along a simila line, Danny M. Ba e o has a gued
ha he equi ocal loca ion o A Veiga is an ins ance o he lexibili y o bo de s (2018:
204). In he essay “Esceni icando Galicia, esceni icando a diáspo a” (Mo eda 2011b) he
au ho —he sel bo n in A Veiga, al hough she mo ed o Galicia wi h he amily a a e y
ea ly age— clea ly and epea edly iden i ies he sel as Galician and claims o u he
ep esen a ions o he Galician diaspo ic iden i y beyond he s e eo ypical ones in he
media and in poli ical speeches. The lack o an o e egional asc ip ion o he main
cha ac e s o he no el may be seen as ano he symp om o he ins abili y o hei iden i y
and o he challenge ha liminali y poses o he ac o naming and, e en ually, o
ecogni ion and iden i ica ion.
The elusi eness o he p o agonis s’ iden i y is u he complica ed by he
cha ac e s’ changing names. Dolo es Vila ed a has al eady poin ed ou ha double

names, indica i e o mig an s’ spli iden i y, a e a ecu en ea u e in Galician na a i es
o mig a ion o Eu ope (2015: 193). On a i ing in a new land, i is no uncommon o
ha e one’s name adap ed o he new phone ics o changed o a simila name in he hos
cul u e. Such is he case ecoun ed, o ins ance, in Xesús F aga’s memoi o his
g andmo he ’s emig a ion o London in he 1960s, Vi udes (e mis e ios) (2020):
“Lond es ob a a unha ans o mación: Vi udes con e é ase en Be y, dúas mulle es
habi aban un mesmo ísico” [London had wo ked a ans o ma ion: Vi udes had become
Be y, wo women inhabi ed one same body] (16). The no ion o “becoming” is e ealing
in ha , a he han opposing wo solid iden i ies, he pas and he p esen sel es, i e e s
o a luid iden i y ha ne e solidi ies. The na a o in A Veiga commen s on he
beha iou al ans o ma ions ma ching he consecu i e changes in Elisa’s name —Luísa,
Louise, Elizabe h, Liz—: “Cando deixaches cae Elisa e Luísa e Louise e puxeches o Liz,
xa e deca a as de que e mo ías como unha inglesa, ías como unha inglesa, pensabas
como unha inglesa, mesmo alabas como elas, pe o co eu acen o” (28) [When you
d opped Elisa and Luísa and Louise and ook on Liz, you had al eady ealized ha you
mo ed like an Englishwoman, laughed like an Englishwoman, hough like an
Englishwoman, you e en alked like hem, al hough wi h you accen ]. Mimic y is one o
he immig an s’ s a egies o pass o he mo e p es igious English locals. Elisa ains
body and mind o esemble an Englishwoman and he na a o ’s de ailed enume a ion and
epe i ion o he e m “Englishwoman” unde lines he co e ed iden i y. Howe e ,
mimic y gene a es a lawed impe sona ion, as he e e ence o he accen exposes, a
issu e in he adop ed iden i y ha will e en ually become a chasm.
Al hough he seems in gene al eluc an o changes, Gelo, he na a o , also has his
name changed upon his a i al in London, which esul s in one o he ew humo ous
momen s in his a he somb e accoun :
—[…] Só es á comen ando que lle esul a es año que un home se chame
Ángel, ou Éinllel, como din eles. Non lle pa ece ap opiado chama che así.
—Dille que odos me chaman Gelo. El amén pode chama me así.
Aquilo non con enceu ampouco a Mis e S oba . Pa ecíase demasiado a
Hello [...].
—Di que p e i e chama che Ma in. Ma iño, aia. Polo apelido. Seica
ampouco dá p onunciado o Ma ínez. (21)
[—[...] He’s jus saying he inds Angel is an odd name o a man, o Einllel,
as hey p onounce i . He doesn’ ind i p ope o call you ha . //—Tell him
e e ybody calls me Gelo. He can also call me ha . //Tha did no con ince
Mis e S oba ei he . I sounded oo much like Hello [...]. //—He says he
p e e s o call you Ma in. Tha is, Ma iño. Because o you las name. I
seems he canno p onounce Ma ínez ei he .]
Names do no a el easily ac oss cul u al and linguis ic bo de s. They igge new
associa ions, no all o hem digni ied o desi able, and hei p onuncia ion may p o e o
be a challenge o he phone ics o he ecei ing coun y. I is no jus he mig an ’s name
ha puzzles he English, s angeness ope a es he o he way a ound oo. English names,
o people o o places, can also be decep i e and conju e up men al pic u es ha a e e y
di e en om he eal hing. Such is he case o Elisa’s i s add ess in London: “como
case semp e en Lond es, o nome enganaba. Willesden G een non e a máis ca unha high
s ee ” [as was almos always he case in London, he name was decep i e. Willesden
G een was no mo e han a high s ee ] (17).
Ano he ac o in he ins abili y o iden i ies is he na a o ’s un eliabili y, which
is no an in equen cha ac e is ic o i s -pe son na a o s. Gelo’s psychological
p edicamen — he no el begins wi h an explici e e ence o his un emi ing ea since
childhood—, his pa iali y, con adic ions, occasional nai e y, p ejudices, his empo a y
igno ance o c ucial ac s, such as Elisa’s whe eabou s, and his o mal disposi ion o he
in o ma ion o be deli e ed: he con inuous use o p olepsis and lashbacks, he
inde e minacy o da es, some o which a e no cla i ied un il he penul ima e chap e , he
in iguing pos ponemen o in o ma ion abou his a ec i e ies wi h Elisa, all o hese a e
ac o s ha , al hough ascina ing om a li e a y poin o iew, make his wi ness-
na a o ’s pe sonali y mo e elusi e.
The He e ogenei y o Us
The p o agonis s’ uns able and luid sel es, hei s angeness o hemsel es and o hei
su oundings, whe he in London o in A Veiga, do no a ou he cons i u ion o a
consis en collec i e iden i y —an us— and any a emp s o ake e uge in a g oup soon
expose he la e ’s in e nal di ision and he con inuous ep oduc ion o u he us- hem
bina ies. Edwa d Said has commen ed on he exiles’ soli ude and hei anxious ecou se
o he exiled communi y’s suppo o es o e and eassemble an iden i y ha has been
made discon inuous by banishmen om he homeland. Said wa ns, howe e , o he isk
o being exiled by he exiles when he accep ed g oup line is no ollowed (2000: 140-
141). Al hough he Pales inian in ellec ual is ca e ul o di e en ia e be ween e ms such
as exile, e ugee, expa ia e, and émig é, he no ices ha he expe ience o soli ude and
es angemen is common, e en i o a ied deg ees, o all hese ypes o mig an s (ibid.:
144).
In A Veiga, he main cha ac e s mee a he ba on Po obello Road, he ba “de
noso” [o ou own] (9), mos likely in o de o eassemble hei discon inuous iden i y.
Fun and en e ainmen could be ce ainly ound in o he London ba s, bu hey p e e his
pa icula one a ended by hei ellow na ionals. Oli ia Rod íguez-González has called
ou a en ion o he ac ha his ba is no a he me ically sealed space o communi y,
because ex e nal cul u al phenomena such as ashion and music manage no jus o
pene a e i s walls bu o e ec ans o ma ions in some o he cha ac e s (2016: 67). The
collec i e iden i y is soon e ealed o be illuso y, especially in wha conce ns gende
di e ence and, mo e speci ically, he double s anda ds applied o women and men:
—Abo é que con nenas como es as é semp e o mesmo. Chegan aquí sen sabe
nada da ida máis que as ca o pa adas que lles me en na cabeza na Sección
Feminina. E aquí en ca o cousas, poñen unha saia máis cu a e xa c en se
as máis lis as [...]
Cando lle dixen que aquelas dúas apa igas e an da Veiga e que a máis
al a e a amiga miña e lle ixen no a ademais que el xa muda a de moza dúas
eces nos apenas dous meses que eu le aba en Lond es, Tino espondeume
cunha isada sa cás ica.
—Home, pe o iso é dis in o. Po que non hei pode di e i me un pouco? (22-
23)
[—Really, wi h gi ls like hese i ’s always he same. They a i e he e knowing
no hing o li e o he han he ou silly ideas ha Sección Feminina c ams in
hei heads. He e hey see ou hings, wea a sho e ski and hey al eady
hink hey a e he sma es […]. // When I old him ha hose wo youngs e s
we e om A Veiga, ha he alle one was a iend o mine, and eminded him
ha he had al eady changed gi l iends wice in ha dly wo mon hs since my
a i al in London, Tino answe ed me wi h a big sa cas ic laugh. // —Man, bu
ha ’s di e en . Why can’ I ha e some un?]
The pa ia chal poin o iew aims o con ol women’s sexuali y: ei he hese women a e
o he exclusi e sexual pleasu e o he hype masculine males in he communi y, o hey
will be slande ed and banished on he g ound o hei lax mo als. The same applies o he
male mig an s’ pe cep ion o Englishwomen’s sexuali y: “Non hai inglesa que se me
esis a!” [no Englishwoman can esis me] (15) exclaims Tino, he na a o ’s iend. The
hype masculine complex is also mani es in he men’s i onic commen s abou he
ocalis ’s high alse o oice in he song Suga Baby Lo e (10) — he 1974 elease da e
o his song, howe e , does no i in he empo al ame o he beginning o he no el.
The gende di ide seems o be s onge han he na ional one ega ding pa ia chal
a i udes o sex and sexual o ien a ion, as also happens in he ield o domes ic asks:
Englishwomen a e slu ed o being ca eless housewi es, as i he wo k o cleaning we e
pa and pa cel o he emale condi ion (19). A simila ca elessness in he male mig an s’
homes is, howe e , seen as na u al and accep able.
Homophobia is ano he di isi e p ejudice o he ex en ha i menaces o b eak
no only he in e nal bonds o he mig an communi y bu also hose o emale bonding.
This is mani es in he commen s made by Ri a, he na a o ’s second wi e, who is ac ually
jealous o he husband’s a achmen o Elisa and makes de oga o y ema ks abou Elisa’s
iendship wi h Gail, insinua ing hei censu able lesbianism (82). Nei he is Elisa’s
eminis ac i ism accep able in he Po obello Road ba . A o me iend o he s like Lidia
a ows using con acep ion pills bu esen s eminis campaigns such as hose led by Elisa
o sp ead knowledge abou ep oduc i e igh s (77). In he ial o Elisa’s in olun a y
agg ession agains an English policeman, Lidia, who has accompanied he ail mo he o
cou , eels o ally alien o Elisa’s ac ions: “aquela banda de luná icas” [ ha pack o
luna ics] (110). Elisa’s i m con ic ions help he o o e come he hos ili y o he women
whom, in he na a o ’s i onic wo ds, she aims o “ edeem” (102).
A issu e in he possibili y o ansna ional emale so o i y is made mani es
h ough he in e sec ions o gende wi h social class and educa ion. Elisa’s s uggle o
in eg a e he sel in English socie y clashes wi h a social s uc u e ha assigns cleaning
jobs o emale mig an s, while uni e si y educa ion, whi e-colla p o essions, and jobs in
middle-class enues a e ese ed o he English: “Esas inglesas non limpaban en
pensións glo i icadas como o Wayco Ho el. Elas podían aspi a , como mínimo, se non
iñan ocación uni e si a ia nin sabían mecanog a a , a despacha nos emplos da moda
en Ox o d S ee ” [Those Englishwomen did no clean in glo i ied boa ding houses like
he Wayco Ho el. They could a leas aspi e, i hey did no ha e a uni e si y oca ion
o did no know yping, o be e ail assis an s in he ashion emples o Ox o d S ee ]
(28). The ca ego y o p o agonis is bes owed on Elisa p ecisely o he endea ou o
change he social cou se ha has been ixed o he , as she combines cleaning wo k wi h
union ac i ism and uni e si y aining, a leas un il he e y end o he no el, when she
unexpec edly en isages e u ning o A Veiga o ul il he mo he ’s d eam o opening a
habe dashe y (116).
On he o he hand, gende di e ence is clea ly connec ed wi h he sala y ob ained,
e en among mig an s om he same coun y, as an unquali ied male wai e like Gelo
makes i een pounds a week (15), while a emale cleane o he nigh shi only makes
wel e and a hal (84). Gende disc imina ion is bla an in he wo ke s’ unions oo, as
Elisa and he emale co-wo ke s soon ealize: “Os T & G non an máis que mi a nos po
en iba do omb ei o […] Pensan que en ealidade non nos ai al a aballa , que odo o
que nos pasa émolo ben me ecido po eima en saí da casa” [ hose in he T&G will
con inuously look down on us … They hink ha we do no need o wo k, and ha we
dese e e e y hing ha happens o us because o ou obs inacy in lea ing he home] (59-
60). One in e s, hen, ha wo ke s’ unions p ima ily de end male wo ke s’ in e es s and
would a he send women home. José Babiano and Ana Fe nández Aspe illa, in hei
analysis o women’s emig a ion o Eu ope in he 1960s, e e o emale poli ical exiles’
ac i ism o de end he igh s o emale economic mig an s, as he la e had ewe
oppo uni ies o o ganize hemsel es (2009: 88).
Since economic mig an s go o he ecei ing coun y o wo k, i is impo an o
de ec , as A Veiga pe cep i ely does, he ways in which gende disc imina ion is
implemen ed by English employe s and unions in wha conce ns jobs on o e and
sala ies. Elisa sees h ough his inequi y soon, and becomes highly engaged in he
o ganiza ion o emale cleane s o all na ionali ies wo king in London, bu he own
communi y, including he admi ing Gelo, esen he ac i ism and he mobiliza ions o
unions ha s uggle o wo ke s’ igh s: “Ma a […] axiña dixo que nin ola a e ían
mani es ándose dian e das Casas so Pa lamen o en Wes mins e , que ela o a a Lond es
pa a aballa ” [Ma a […] soon said ha she would, no way, be seen demons a ing
opposi e he Houses o Pa liamen in Wes mins e , ha she had come o London o wo k]
(73). Thei economic and ju idical ulne abili y, oge he wi h decades o ideological
indoc ina ion in hei homeland, make he immig an communi y in his no el especially
docile and e y li le inclined o mobiliza ion. A simila example o esis ance o ideas
ha may be judged poli ically incon enien is ha e e ed by he na a o conce ning he
mig an g oup’s mocke y o Don Adol o’s epublican ideals: “Nós non coñecemos ou a
nación que aquela das glo ias impe iais que nos ap ende on na escola e que moi os sen en
e dadei amen e, e nada nos din palab as como ede alismo ou es a u o” [We know no
o he na ion han ha o he impe ial glo ies we we e augh a school and ha many eel
a hea , and wo ds such as ede alism o s a u e mean no hing o us] (79).
Social in eg a ion in he ecei ing coun y equi es a minimum command o he
ecei ing coun y’s na i e language and, he e oo, Elisa pe o ms be e han Gelo,
al hough he o eign accen be ays he and becomes an obs acle in he social ascen (29,
30). This di e ence in language luency becomes a ba ie be ween he couple in hei
social ela ions wi h English people, as he na a o himsel a ows: “Eu un pouco a pouco
quedando ó a. O inglés non é meu: nunca o se á” [Li le by li le I was le ou . English
is no mine: i will ne e be] (37). I is no only he pe sonal ela ionship be ween Gelo
and Elisa ha su e s om hei unequal command o he English language, because
Elisa’s desi e o sound English and look English also p o okes mis us among he ellow
mig an s — he ba in Po obello Road unc ions as a me onymy o he mig an
communi y— as i she we e ying o swap loyal ies: “E iso ixe a que algúns en
Po obello Road e mi asen con descon ianza , e i sábelo, como se quixeses c uza ca a
a ou o lado que non che co espondía, como se o inglés e as saias cu as e o cabelo
inguido osen pequenos es igmas que e acían es aña pa a os eus” [And ha had made
some in Po obello Road look a you wi h mis us , and you know i , as i you wan ed o
c oss o e o ano he side ha was no o you, as i English and sho ski s and dyed hai
we e li le s igmas ha made you a s ange o you own] (40). Edwa d Said e e s o
exiles’ insis ence on hei igh no o belong o he ecei ing socie y, as well as o hei ,
a imes, na cissis ic masochism and e usal o amelio a e hei condi ion (2000: 145-
146). This handicap also seems o apply o he mig an communi y in he no el, and one
could pe haps explain i by he ecou se, once again, o Said’s unde s anding o exile as
a phenomenon o discon inui y on being cu om one’s oo s (ibid.: 140). Mig an s’
esis ance o adop he ecei ing coun y’s cul u e may be unde s ood as a e usal o
accep ha discon inuous s a e, and as a s a egy o emain in he an asized sameness o
he homeland.
The in e na ional communi y o immig an s in London men ioned in A Veiga is
ce ainly miscellaneous: he na ionali y mos equen ly poin ed ou and wi h close
a achmen s o he cha ac e s o he no el, is ha o I alians, bu hey a e pe cei ed as
lazy and oublesome (15). On o he occasions, hey may be inspi ing, as in he case o
I alian and G eek es au an s in he me opolis (15), which gi e he idea o Tino and Gelo
o open a es au an “da e a” [ om he land] (15). Some neighbou hoods accommoda e
mo e immig an s han o he s, as happens in Willesden G een, Elisa’s add ess, which
bus les wi h business un by I ish, Pakis ani, Indian, Ca ibbean and Po uguese
immig an s (17). Such e hnic di e si y ac ually makes he na a o ecall he endu ing
acis p ejudices o Lidia’s a he : “Celes ino […] ixe a pa e do se izo mili a en Á ica
e xamais consegui a supe a a súa a e sión polos mou os nin polos neg os, dos que anos
máis a de nos ba es da Veiga aínda alaba con noxo mal agachado” [Celes ino had done
pa o his mili a y se ice in A ica and had ne e managed o o e come his loa hing o
Moo s and blacks, o whom yea s la e in he ba s o A Veiga he con inued o alk wi h
poo ly hidden disgus ] (17-18). The no el does no p esen any clea signal o biological
acism on he pa o he B i ish agains Gelo’s and Elisa’s communi y o mig an s,
al hough he e a e hin s o a mo e sub le cul u al disc imina ion, a phenomenon ha
Gab iel Bello Regue a, ollowing Pie e-And é Taguie and Michel Wie io ka, calls
“implici acism”, which he ela es o he Eu opean shi om biological acism o cul u al
acism a e Wo ld Wa II and he Nazi genocide made he o me un enable (2007: 2-
3). Celes ino’s biological acism co esponds o Spain’s P o ec o a e in Mo occo —as in
he omission o he e ms “Galicia” and “As u ias” in he no el, “Spain” is ne e
men ioned, and he e is no e e ence o “Spanish” mig an s—, a colonial en e p ise ha ,
as we can see in he no el, p omo ed colonialis acism, e en among he mos subal e n
membe s o he colonialis a my.
Necessa y hough mig an s’ ne wo ks a e because hey help in inding jobs (15,
20) and accommoda ion (54-55), as well as gi ing emo ional suppo , hey e ince di isi e
o ces ha make collec i e iden i y e y agile. The he e ogenei y ha one expec s o
ind inside any na ional g oup and ha is o en o e looked in he diaspo a eally eme ges
and ep oduces i sel in he des ina ion coun y. E en he smalle amily uni is o en o n
by emig a ion, as happens in Nela’s and Celes ino’s amily when hei daugh e Luísa

e uses o emig a e o London and Elisa no only occupies he place as Nela’s so o
os e daugh e bu also adop s Luísa’s name o a while (19-20). Simila ly, Elisa’s amily
is b oken apa by emig a ion wi h he g andmo he in he home own, he mo he in
Bilbao and he daugh e in London. Howe e , he amily may be he i s ins i u ion o
encou age o acili a e emig a ion among i s membe s because o he expe ience gained
by he i s mig a ing ela i e, as we can also see in Xesús F aga’s memoi Vi udes (e
mis e ios) (2020). The no el A Veiga o e all shows ha , no ma e how s ongly he
no ion o us is desi ed o ea i med by mig an s, i s ep essed he e ogenei y su aces
be o e long, as amilies a e eshu led and mig an s’ ne wo ks unde go w enching
ensions.
Con apun al iden i ies
Edwa d Said main ains ha he exiled pe son enjoys a con apun al awa eness o a leas
wo cul u es and ha he expe iences li ed in he new en i onmen occu , con apun ally,
alongside memo ies o he homeland, he eby gi ing ise o a se ies o compa isons,
simila i ies and di e ences be ween bo h (2000: 148). This con apun al p ocess is
p obably he one which mos ac i ely bols e s he us- hem, now- hen, he e- he e bina ies
in A Veiga. The mos s iking compa ison is ha be ween F ancois opp ession, wi h
su eillance o people and hei mo es e en as la e as he 1960s, and he mo e ole an
and democ a ic p ac ices in England — he no el always e e s o he ecei ing coun y
as England and o i s people and ins i u ions as English, so e en e y common e ms such
as B i ain o he UK a e no used in A Veiga, while he e m “B i ish”, e y a e in his
no el, is colloca ed wi h posi i e quali ies as in “b i ánica solemnidade” [B i ish
solemni y] (52) o “b i ánica su ileza” [B i ish sub le y] (53). When Tino sha es wi h
Gelo his p ojec o open a es au an “da e a” [o he land] (15), he s esses he di e ence
be ween he wo coun ies ega ding no only bu eauc a ic o mali ies bu also F ancois
con ol o he popula ion’s ac ions and ideology: “Alí non che hai esas le ias de
ce i icado de boa condu a, nin hai Ga da Ci il, nin o alcalde nin o cu a eñen nada que
dici nes as cousas” [The e you don’ ha e all he bo he abou he good conduc
ce i ica e, he e is no Gua dia Ci il and nei he he mayo no he p ies ha e any say in
hese hings] (16). A chap e ha is especially p oli ic in pi hy con apun al examples o
us- hem, now- hen, he e- he e bina ies is “Wes mins e ”, abou Elisa’s inciden wi h a
policeman du ing one o he Women’s Lib ac ions, and he ial a cou : “Ingla e a non
é a Veiga, epi o pa a min. Mil no ecen os se en a e es, es e ano que a a aquel momen o
es á sendo an plácido, non é o in a e seis. E un policía, e menos aínda un bobbie, non é
un alcalde, nin un cu a, nin un sa xen o da Ga da Ci il” [England is no A Veiga, I epea
o mysel . Nine een se en y- h ee, his yea ha un il ha momen was passing so
placidly, is no nine een hi y-six. And a policeman, and e en less a bobby, is nei he a
mayo , no a p ies , no a se gean o he Gua dia Ci il] (109).
Apa om he obse a ions on he di e ence be ween a mili a y dic a o ship and
a democ acy, wi h e e y hing ha each sys em en ails ega ding ci izens’ igh s, he
na a o o en commen s, in simila ly eloquen con as s, on he di e ence be ween
women’s li es unde F anco’s Na ional Ca holicism and women’s mo es in London
du ing he “Swinging Six ies”: “Daqueles meses lemb o a sensación de que Lond es odo
o cambiaba. Nin os bailes e an xa bailes, nin os amigos e an o que o an, nin as apazas
que os c ia ades ao abei o de dona B ígida le abades xa o eo os domingos nin saia po
debaixo dos xeonllos" [O hose mon hs I emembe he imp ession ha London changed
e e y hing. Dances we e no longe dances, iends we e no wha hey used o be, and
you, he young women who had g own unde Dona B ígida’s supe ision, did no longe
wea a eil on Sundays o he ski below he knees] (25). The Ca holic Chu ch used o
p omo e discou ses abou he mo al isks ha emig a ion en ailed o women and p essed
hem o con ac hei missions on a i al (Babiano & Fe nández Aspe illa 2009: 81). The
young mig an women in London, howe e , would a he look like Twiggy, he English
ashion model who became an icon in he swinging ‘60s in B i ain (9). A mo e dis u bing
compa ison, howe e , is ha o he less a ac i e Ri a, Gelo’s second wi e, wi h he
cha ac e in he Bea les’ song “Lo ely Ri a, Me e Maid” (1967), as he na a o ’s
dispassiona e ela ionship wi h he sha es some esemblance wi h he oppo unis ic
ela ionship desc ibed in he ly ics o he song.
When Gelo and Ri a go dancing, wi h hei I alian and Po uguese iends, o he
dancing hall o he local Ca holic chu ch —in his no el B ooklyn (2009), he I ish w i e
Colm Tóibín also pays ca e ul a en ion o ole o he Ca holic Chu ch in he managemen
o he mig a ion low om I eland o he Uni ed S a es and, in pa icula , o hese dancing
e enings whe e new couples a e o med o ensu e he consolida ion o he Ca holic
communi y in he des ina ion coun y— he dance s end up ep oducing he habi s o he
homeland wi h men and women alking in sepa a e g oups, al hough hey ainly a emp
o imi a e English social ga he ings: “coidábamos que os ingleses non e an así, que se
mes u aban e alaban con uns e con ou os e que en e eles non había asun os de homes e
mulle es” [we hough ha he English we e no like us, ha hey mixed up and alked
a ound and ha among hem he e we e no men’s opics and women’s opics] (70). The
na a o app o es he lack o seg ega ion by gende in English social ga he ings bu , due
o his con o mis disposi ion, soon yields o he cus oma y ways o Medi e anean
Ca holic coun ies.
Al hough in he con apun al compa isons seen abo e England is p esen ed as
mo e democ a ic and mode n han he homeland, he e a e some occasional compa isons
in which he homeland a es be e . The na a o ’s un eliabili y and alse consciousness
leads him, o ins ance, o iden i y p oblems in London ha he hinks a e non-exis en in
his home own, as in he case o sexual ha assmen in public places: “en Lond es iso
pasaba, na Veiga non” [in London ha would happen, no in A Veiga] (47). In spi e o
he se e e police con ol in F ancois imes, one expec s ha sexual ha assmen did ake
place, bu was a ely denounced because o he common p ac ice o ic im shaming in
conse a i e socie ies. Ano he disconce ing con apun al di e ence obse ed by he
na a o , conside ing his pe sonal and economic backg ound, is ha abou he ha dships
o li e in London: “Non pode habe anos áciles en Lond es como si os había na Veiga”
[The e canno be easy yea s in London like hose ha eally exis ed in A Veiga] (66). The
na a o ’s maladjus men o he ecei ing coun y may be esponsible o his occasional
idealiza ion o he homeland.
Concluding Rema ks
The p esen chap e has ocused on he main in e sec ional con lic s ha a ise in mig an
g oups, such as he communi y po ayed by E a Mo eda in he no el A Veiga é como un
empo dis in o (2011), and ha des abilize he no ion o sameness o homogenei y in said
g oups. The no el abounds in examples o ensions and di ision wi hin he mig an
communi y ha in e sec wi h he us- hem na ional bounda y be ween he English and
immig an s, and end up eshu ling g oups and loyal ies. To s a wi h, he mig an s’
ela ionship wi h hei homeland is p oblema ized o he ex en ha he p o agonis s eel
hey a e s ange s in hei own coun y. Simila ly, mig a ion p o okes a spli subjec i i y,
a discon inui y in Edwa d Said’s wo ds (2000), be ween he mig an ’s pas and p esen
sel es which, a he han cons i u e wo clea cu solid sel es, ge s in e wined in a luid
p ocess o ans o ma ion and becoming.
The e a e a numbe o na a ological s a egies ha emphasize he ins abili y o
he mig an s’ iden i y, such as he na a o ’s nume ous ins ances o un eliabili y, his
dis o ed pe cep ion o ime and space, he an alizing liminali y o he cha ac e s’ place
o o igin and he decep i e na u e o names o people and places. Rega ding he impac
o social con lic s on he mig an g oup’s collec i e iden i y, he gende gap is among he
mos di isi e ones in his no el, as we come ac oss abundan examples o pa ia chal
domina ion, wi h double s anda ds o men and women, homophobia, exal a ion o
hype masculini y, hos ili y o eminis ac i ism, and disc imina ion o women in
educa ion and he job ma ke . F ancois and Ca holic indoc ina ion a e among he
s onges o ces behind he gende gap and a e also decisi e in he mig an s’ esis ance o
amelio a e hei si ua ion. The mig an s’ ne wo ks, among hem ha o he amily uni ,
play an impo an ole in acili a ing, e en encou aging, he expe ience o mig a ion, and
in p o iding emo ional suppo o eassemble he mig an ’s discon inuous iden i y, bu
hey also ep oduce in e nal us- hem di isions ha make he collec i e iden i y ex emely
elusi e and p oblema ic.
I.3.3. Co espondences
This sec ion “Us & Them in he Con empo a y I ish and Galician No el” b ings oge he
wo e y di e en no els ha engage wi h emale diaspo a a dispa a e imes in his o y
— he second hal o he nine een h cen u y in E elyn Conlon’s No he Same Sky and he
la e 1960s and ea ly 1970s in E a Mo eda’s A Veiga é como un empo dis in o— and
dis an places —Aus alia and London espec i ely. I could be a gued ha , conside ing
he massi e low o I ish emig an s o London in he wen ie h cen u y —especially a e
Wo ld Wa II and, la e , in he 1980s— a mo e i ing compa ison would ha e been
be ween Mo eda’s no el and a woman-au ho ed no el abou I ish emale emig an s in
London a ound he same yea s. Indeed, Tony Mu ay’s book London I ish Fic ions:
Na a i e, Diaspo a and Iden i y (2012) would ha e been an enligh ening sou ce o
in o ma ion o such a compa a i e analysis, bu his own commen s on he emale-
au ho ed li e a y wo ks included in his analysis sugges ci cumspec ion, as he concludes
ha Edna O’B ien’s w i ing does no o eg ound mig a ion and he sho s o ies by Sa ah
Be keley and Emma Donoghue ha dly co espond o “ he a che ypal London I ish s o y”
(2014). The sca ci y o I ish women no elis s who deal, in any dep h, wi h he emale
mig an ’s p edicamen in London a ound his pe iod is, he e o e, no iceable.
One ques ion o ackle is whe he he dispa i y in he empo al and spa ial se ings
o he no els by Conlon and Mo eda in alida es placing hem side by side o highligh
ele an compa a i e aspec s. The answe p oposed he e is ha , on he con a y, dispa a e
imes and places e eal he pe sis ence o ce ain si ua ions and discou ses ha should be
he objec o analysis by c i ics o li e a y and cul u al s udies. Bonnie Honig’s book
Democ acy and he Fo eigne (2001) is ac ually haun ed by he eci cula ion o na a i es
abou o eignness and hei use, among o he pu poses, ei he o ena ionalize o
dena ionalize a pa icula communi y (ibid.: 6, 10). In his espec , e en compa isons
ac oss gen es a e pe inen , as in he ecou se o he mo i and ope o bi d mig a ion ha
is o be ound bo h in Alba Cid’s poe y collec ion A las and in Conlon’s no el. Likewise,
Cid’s a en ion o he memo ializing unc ion o he Asma pole bea s compelling
esemblance o he memo ial monumen o he ic ims o he G ea I ish Famine. The
indi iduals’ sense o o eignness wi hin hei own communi y is also a conce n common
o Mo eda’s no el and o he s o ies by Fiona Ba and Anne De lin because o he hos ile
poli ical clima e and i s concomi an exclusions. Mo eo e , he mig an ’s need o adap
o he ecei ing socie y o en en ails p ac ices o mimic y ha a e illus a ed in Mo eda’s
no el and in Ma y O’Donnell’s s o y “Twen ynine Palms”.
One common ea u e in Conlon’s and Mo eda’s no els is hei close da e o
publica ion —2013 and 2011 espec i ely— soon a e he 2007 in e na ional inancial
c isis ha had d ama ic e ec s on he economy o I eland and Galicia and p o oked
subsequen mig a ion lows. The con empo a y eading public o bo h no els would
necessa ily be especially sensi i e o pas expe iences o economic u moil and
emig a ion. The eci cula ion o such pas e en s could hen be unde s ood as a s a egy
o coping and lea ning om his o y. Rega ding he encoun e wi h o eignness which
esul s om he mig a ion expe ience, bo h no els engagingly in e oga e homogenizing
ca ego ies o sameness such as hose exp essed by he use o he p onoun us in opposi ion
o ano he amalgama ed g oup o hem. The he e ogenei y o he homeland, ha o he
ecei ing coun y and o he mig an communi y a e hus laid ba e in bo h no els.
2016 while I was w i ing some o he monologues. I s ikes me ha whe eas
h oughou he wen ie h cen u y An igone was a hea ical ouchs one and
poli ical me apho o esis ance o au ho i a ianism, in he wen y- i s
cen u y, Iphigenia is eme ging as a me apho o ‘colla e al damage’, and he
dea hs o ci ilians (many o whom a e women and child en) in he in e es s o
mili a ism and poli ical expediency. (Shaughnessy 2016b)
One ce ainly expec s e e y ew i ing o a classical play o allude o he playw igh ’s
con empo a y social con ex , bu he hi d pa ag aph o he abo e quo a ion es ablishes
unan icipa ed and eye-opening compa isons be ween Eu ipides’ play abou Iphigenia’s
o deal wi h he con ex o he T oubles in No he n I eland om he la e 1960s o he la e
1990s. The innocen ic im as colla e al damage when ci ilians a e killed in he in e es
o mili a y and poli ical s a egies is a agic con lic conside ed in bo h he G eek play
and in Shaughnessy’s e sion. Shaughnessy also e e s, in he abo e quo a ion, o he wa
in Sy ia, which has been ongoing since 2011, and he subsequen mig a ion lows, an
expe ience o o ced displacemen caused by a iolen con lic ha ecalls Anne De lin’s
need o lea e he iolen No h du ing he T oubles, as men ioned ea lie in his chap e .
In he e iew o he pe o mance o he play a he O’Donoghue Thea e, he w i e Sighle
Meehan also commen s on he ele ance o Eu ipides’ play o ou p esen imes:
O cou se, no hing happens in he old my hs ha does no epea in ou own
imes. Does no e e y ule who leads his people o wa sac i ice his na ion’s
child en? And a e he seas o Eu ope oday no ed wi h he blood o young
child en, “ba ely isible in he bigge schemes / d eamed up by gods o men?”
(2017: 19)
One may ini ially be su p ised o ind his ecou se o G eek d ama om he i h cen u y
BCE o commen on he p esen wo ld, bu i is ac ually he ole played by he s angeness
o such a dis an pas and cul u e ha is o ele ance o his chap e , because i
de amilia izes ou p esen -day expe ience, deac i a es ou au oma ic esponses and
ine ia, and o ces us o look a i anew, om a di e en angle.
Ano he a om seconda y conce n in The Sac i icial Wind is pa ia chy and i s
uses o use women, young and old, o pe pe ua e i s p i ileges, a opic ha ings a bell
ap opos he disc imina ion agains women playw igh s in a p edominan ly pa ia chal
I ish hea e, as seen in he in oduc o y sec ion o his chap e , and ha , dis essingly,
does no limi i sel o his cul u al mani es a ion, as seen in Phyl He be ’s accoun o he
con ol o e mo he hood h ough he collusion o na ionalis and Ca holic pa ia chal
in e es s. The Sac i icial Wind exposes he limi ed ange o ac ion o he emale
cha ac e s, who mus se e he gods’, he na ion’s and he pa ia chal ins i u ions’
designs.
Iphigenia’s p edicamen in Eu ipides’ Iphigenia in Aulis (408-406 BCE) also
in o ms he plo o Ma ina Ca ’s A iel (2002), while he my h o Medea in o ms he play
By he Bog o Ca s (1998) (Roche 2009: 254), bu Shaughnessy engages mo e closely and
c i ically wi h he G eek play i sel . Al hough he di ec o o he p oduc ion, Max Ha le ,
ollows he h ee-ac o ule o A henian d ama, by which only h ee ac o s play he oles
o all he cha ac e s, and e en hough bo h Eu ipides’ and Shaughnessy’s ex s a e in
e se, he la e does no con ain dialogues o apid e bal duels among he cha ac e s,
bu a sequence o subs an ial indi idual monologues a anged in a way ha allows he

con as o di e en poin s o iew. This disposi ion, which may a imes ecall wi nesses’
es imonies a a ial, compels he audience o assume hei esponsibili y in he
in e p e a ion o he cha ac e s’ p edicamen s and in he judgemen o he cha ac e s’
a ious e hical posi ions. Bu he audience’s sc u iny is no simply applied o he ons age
cha ac e s because, as he di ec o Max Ha le eminds us, he public mus p obe in o
hei own esponsibili y in he ic imiza ion o o he s:
The cha ac e s add essed only he audience. This did no mean
ha he o he pe o me s did no suppo he main ac o , bu he p incipal
ac ing pa ne was always he audience. This kep bo h a eel o G eek d ama
and a palpable collusion in he audience ega ding hei “ ole” in he sac i ice
and o he decisions ha he cha ac e s made. (2016)
Fu he mo e, he monologues p esen he cha ac e s’ in e nal s uggles, an aspec which,
acco ding o Ma i Meinhold, oday’s audiences a e accus omed o bu was alien o G eek
d ama: “[…] he explo a ion o in e nal mo i a ions and emo ions ons age, a no ion ha
was o eign o G eek hea e” (2022: 138). Max Ha le ac ually compa es he monologues
wi h musical a ias “changing ene gy and mo emen suddenly o wo o h ee minu es
be o e a new cha ac e wis s he s o y, o en iolen ly, in ano he di ec ion” (2016). Thus,
each monologue equi es a di e en mode o deli e y and gene a es a pa icula
a mosphe e.
The numbe o cha ac e s also di e s om he G eek o he I ish e sion, as he
o me has se en, apa om he Cho us —Agamemnon, Achilles, Menelaos,
Cly emnes a, Old Man, Messenge and Iphigenia— while Shaughnessy’s has nine, apa
om he Cho us: Eu ipides, Iphigenia, Agamemnon, Cly emnes a, Foo soldie s (1 and
2), Achilles, Calchas, Ch yso hemis, and Elec a, i e o whom a e new ons age wi h
espec o he G eek play. By including he G eek au ho as a cha ac e in he e sion,
Shaughnessy adds me a hea ical conside a ions abou he plo and i s ending, as well as
abou a playw igh ’s esponsibili y in he pe pe ua ion o ce ain ideologies o powe and
gende . In his espec , he di ec o o he p oduc ion Max Ha le also in e oga es his ole
and ha o a is s in gene al: wha ha e hey o o e in he ace o hese a oci ies? (2016).
By in oducing Ch yso hemis and Elec a —Iphigenia’s sis e s— Shaughnessy ein o ces
and adds complexi y o he emale poin s o iew in he play and, apa om he mo he -
daugh e bond, explo es sibling ies bu also i al y. By in oducing Calchas’ and he
oo soldie s’ speeches, Shaughnessy gi es hem he oppo uni y o speak hei own
wo ds, a he han me ely ha e hei in en ions and mo i a ions in e es edly epo ed by
o he cha ac e s. As Ma y-Kay Gamel a gues in he analysis o Eu ipides’ play:
Iphigenia a Aulis is ull o e e ences o cha ac e s who ha e a s ong
in luence on he beha iou o ons age cha ac e s bu ne e appea , among
hem Helen, Kalkhas, Odysseus, he a my, and A emis. Thei nonappea ance
emphasizes hei exis ence in he cha ac e s’ minds as e bal cons uc s,
p ojec ions o he needs and ea s o hose who in oke hem. In his play
“o s age” is associa ed wi h wo ds, he expec ed, adi ion, he pas ,
ine i abili y, “ons age” wi h ac ions, su p ise, unp edic abili y, he p esen ,
he possibili y o change. (1999: 323)
Gamel’s assessmen o o s age cha ac e s’ oles is applicable o Shaughnessy’s e sion,
no only in wha conce ns he cha ac e s ha he I ish e sion main ains o s age bu also
ega ding he impac o p esen ing some o hem ons age. Howe e , Gamel’s app aisal o
ons age ac ion and ons age cha ac e s in Eu ipides’ play is o less pe inence o
Shaughnessy’s sc ip since, in he la e , e en s a e o en p esen ed in he pas ense, so
he e ec s o su p ise, unp edic abili y and possibili y o change a e conside ably
educed. The I ish e sion seems o acknowledge ha a Wes e n audience is amilia wi h
he play and ha p opelling he in igue abou he sac i ice o Iphigenia may be sel -
de ea ing. The linea p esen a ion o e en s in ch onological o de in Eu ipides’ play,
wi h he concomi an sus ained in igue abou he sac i ice o Iphigenia un il he e y end
o he sc ip , is des abilized in Shaughnessy’s a angemen o he sc ip in wo implici
b oad pa s: a i s one abou he al eady decided and impending sac i ice and a second
one abou i s a e ma h and he cha ac e s’ assessmen o wha has happened. The I ish
e sion, which is no di ided in ei he ac s o scenes, educes he in igue o he adi ional
plo bu adds mo e psychological in igue abou Iphigenia and he en ou age, hei
mo i a ions and hei pligh . Max Ha le e e s o he s uc u e o The Sac i icial Wind as
“se pen ine”, which in his opinion allows mo e d ama ic possibili ies han he
con en ional p esen a ion in consecu i e scenes (2016). This al e a ion o he linea plo
ecalls An hony Roche’s obse a ion abou he ci cula i y in I ish d ama plo s, which he
connec s wi h he pos -colonial condi ion o I eland and he li ed expe ience o
ci cums ances ha ha e been “imposed” on he I ish (2009: 4). Simila ly, he des iny
imposed on Iphigenia e y much cu ails any o wa d mo emen .
In he eminis analysis o Eu ipides’ play, Gamel de ec s implici con adic ions
and inconsis encies in he pa ia chal discou se o he A henian play ha Shaughnessy
engages wi h in a mo e o e way in he e sion. The e a e a numbe o opposi ions in
he G eek play ha Gamel decons uc s o show ha hese bina ies a e ac ually di use
and in e wined: gods s humans, amily household s he s a e, G eeks s ba ba ians,
ee people s sla es, and male s emale (1999: 312-316). The inconsis ency o hese
opposi ions is exposed in Shaughnessy’s sc ip by ques ioning he a ious us- hem
di isions a ound no ions o o eignness, ma ginaliza ion, and exclusion ha he G eek
play p esen s us wi h.
Shaughnessy’s The Sac i icial Wind begins wi h a speech by Eu ipides ha aises
he ques ion abou he au ho ’s esponsibili y in he pe pe ua ion o opp essi e ideologies:
“Will Iphigenia die ye again a he s oke o my pen? […] Ei he way she’s a sla e o
someone else’s will” (ll. 26, 31). Howe e , he cha ac e o Eu ipides he playw igh in
The Sac i icial Wind is no in a posi ion o powe o con ol o e meaning, as he mani es s
his doub s abou he app op ia e ending o his play: “no, le ’s be hones , I can’ decide /
which way I wan i o end” (ll. 23-24). P esen ing he playw igh ’s explici hesi a ion
abou his choice o he ending in he I ish e sion is an aspec ha di e s subs an ially
om he sc ip o Eu ipides’ agedy —al hough he e has been an ongoing deba e abou
he au ho ship o he ending o Iphigenia a Aulis (Gamel 1999: 327). I is also he aspec
ha allows o mo e unp edic abili y and su p ise.
To he in e oga ion o he bina y opposi ion be ween au ho and p o agonis and
he alleged con ol o he o me o e he la e , we can add he ques ioning o he
opposi ion be ween he ee ci izen and he sla e in A henian socie y. Al hough Iphigenia
is a king’s daugh e , she has no powe o choose he des iny, he ange o choice being
limi ed o being sac i iced olun a ily o in olun a ily (Gamel 1999: 315). The G eek
play ends wi h Iphigenia accep ing o die in he a he ’s sac i ice i ual, bu he goddess
A emis whisks he young woman o he emple and eplaces he body a he al a wi h
ha o a dee , he eby e incing he simila subjuga ion by pa ia chy o woman and
animal.
The bea ing o Eu ipides’ speech on he I ish con ex is exp essed in a ious
manne s: “[…] he ne e -ending wa s, / ba les los and ba les won/ […] / i o a , he
blame game” (ll. 1-2, 3). The simila i y, on he one hand, o he unceasing I ish esis ance
o B i ish coloniza ion and i s ne e -ending wa s can easily come o he public’s mind.
On he o he hand, dis inc exp essions such as “ i o a ”, ha we also ind in
Shaughnessy’s poems on he No he n I eland T oubles in he collec ion Wi ness T ees
(2011), equally es ablish connec ions be ween he Peloponnesian Wa ha Eu ipides
li ed h ough and he sec a ian iolence du ing he T oubles in No he n I eland: “abou
he kille s he sen o jail / and he man hey made a kille o / o i hei a ” (32). Fo his
eason, he i ony —a de ice ha Shaughnessy’s e sion especially elishes— in he G eek
playw igh ’s s a emen is s unning: “[…] So I came no h / o his place, in sea ch o
peace” (ll. 7-8). Al hough his may well e e o Eu ipides’ exile o Macedonia, he
audience is likely o unde s and he e e ence by he cha ac e ons age o “ his place” as
I eland. The p obabili y ha he audience will conside he No h o be an inhospi able
place o peace, due o i s sec a ian iolence, makes Eu ipides sound misguided o
misin o med, which adds o his allibili y as a cha ac e in he I ish e sion. Eu ipides
complains ha G eece is no coun y o old men: “I could see he e was no space o an
old poe ” (l. 12) and his again na ows he dis ance be ween pas and p esen , G eece and
I eland, as his sen ence ecalls he i s line o Yea s’s “Sailing o Byzan ium”: “Tha is
no coun y o old men […]” (1928). Yea s’s poem equa es I eland wi h old age and
epheme ali y, and Byzan ium and G eek c a smanship wi h you h and pe manence, so
he cha ac e o Eu ipides may be igh in hinking ha his des ina ion place could be
mo e welcoming o old age, conside ing ha he sees his own dea h app oaching: “Dea h
doesn’ look so he oic a my age / when i ’s b ea hing down you neck” (ll. 27-28). This
conside a ion o impending dea h b ings oge he Iphigenia and he cha ac e o he
playw igh , in spi e o he ac ha he o me s ands o innocen you h and he la e o
con used and us a ed old age.
In his opening speech he cha ac e o Eu ipides e y succinc ly p esen s he plo o he
G eek agedy:
My mind keeps going back o Aulis,
he aw beginnings o he T ojan Wa s
ha Home didn’ ell, when s ongman
Agamemnon sac i iced his daugh e o A emis
in e u n o wind o ill he sails o his lee […]. (ll. 15-19)
This summa y o he plo clea ly illus a es Shaughnessy’s exp essed conce n wi h he
colla e al damage and innocen ic ims o mili a ism, o which we may add a young
woman’s absolu e impo ence in he ace o eligious and pa ia chal designs. Once again,
we a e con on ed by he ac ha he us- hem di ision is o en d awn along gende lines
wi hin he same communi y: ha o ee humans om he same amily and he same
na ion.
In ano he me a hea ical clue, he cha ac e o Eu ipides e e s o a my h ending
in which A emis sa es Iphigenia om he sac i ice and makes he a p ies ess a he
goddess’s emple, a si ua ion ha he eal G eek playw igh explo ed in his play Iphigenia
among he Tau ians in he i h cen u y BCE and ha Lo na Shaughnessy alludes o a
he end o he e sion. Wha e e ending he ic ional playw igh eso s o is
unsa is ac o y, as he openly denounces he my hical app op ia ion o he young woman
by he collusion o pa ia chal and eligious designs: “Is he e a igh ending o a s o y
like his? / Ei he way she’s a sla e o someone else’s will, / a young gi l, ba ely isible
in he bigge schemes / d eamed up by gods and men” (ll. 30-33). This complici y o
pa ia chal and eligious ins i u ions agains women’s physical in eg i y and eedom will
no pass unno iced o an I ish audience amilia wi h he in es iga ion o child abuse i s
published in 2009, known as The Ryan Repo (2021), and he in es iga ion a ound
Mo he and Baby Homes which began in 2015 and examined e idence o illegal a ic
o unma ied mo he s’ babies (Mo he and Baby Homes 2021).
The Cho us is he elemen o G eek plays ha may seem as he mos alien o
con empo a y d ama and which, o his eason, is some imes emo ed in mode n
adap a ions (Meinhold 2022: 136). Shaughnessy’s e sion main ains he Cho us and
di ides i in o 3 di e en oices who desc ibe he expec an lee anxious o wa , c i icize
he causes o he wa and an icipa e he de as a ing consequences o Iphigenia’s sac i ice
in a e y ap blending o pas , p esen and u u e e en s. Ra he han he ini ially exci ed
Cho us oices, igno an o he eali y o wa , who p aise he ea s o he G eek a my
agains he ba ba ians in he G eek agedy (Gamel 1999: 318), The Sac i icial Wind
p esen s a e y censo ious Cho us ha , a he han speak o he A henian socie y o he
i h cen u y BCE, sounds like he p esen -day oice o ou conscience: “The ani y o a
cuckolded husband / demands he public s age o wa / he G eeks will pu sue Helen / o
pe suade he wo ld o Menelaus’ ou age” (ll. 41-44). As he consequence o male sexual
jealousy and ani y, and he claim o a man on a woman’s body and mind, Iphigenia will
be sac i iced, and he T ojan Wa s will ensue. The Cho us in Shaughnessy’s e sion is
awa e o and ocal abou he allou o his mili a y campaign o bo h G eek and T ojan
people: “I we hough o an ins an he dea h would sa e / he li e o any young G eek
man / o sa e one T ojan woman om ape and sla e y / i would b ing some com o ”
(ll. 55-58). The opposi ion be ween us-G eeks and hem-T ojans e en ually ounde s, as
he Cho us o esees om he s a o he play ha bo h will lose in he bloodshed.
The abo e in e en ion o he Cho us makes he ac ion mo e o wa d e y apidly
and, ins ead o Agamemnon’s and Menelaus’ dispu es and he o me ’s icks o decei e
his wi e and daugh e as in Eu ipides’ play, The Sac i icial Wind accele a es he plo and
p esen s Iphigenia exp essing, in he hi d speech o he play al eady, he ea and
as onishmen a he a he ’s decision o sac i ice he . A his s age she is s ill he child
ha holds on o amily ies and is igno an o he na ional alibis wielded o p oceed o he
sac i ice. Gamel poin s ou he inconsis ency in he cons uc ion o he p o agonis in he
G eek play: he ea ul daugh e ha opposes he a he ’s design s. he G eek ci izen ha
e en ually accep s o die o he coun y (1999: 309). Such inconsis ency co esponds o
wo incompa ible oles and sphe es ha he p o agonis embodies in he G eek play: ha
o p i a e li e, which p i ileges amily bonds and emo ions and is usually eminine, s.
ha o masculine public li e in which Iphigenia a den ly gauges and endo ses he na ion’s
in e es s e y much like an A henian man would be expec ed o do (Gamel 1999: 316). I
is his inconsis ency ha makes Cly emnes a, in he d ama ic monologue o The
Sac i icial Wind, ask Iphigenia o explain he easons o he change, as she u ges he
daugh e o keep on esis ing he G eek a my’s p essu e: “Wha made you change cou se
om he igh / o su i e o his lis less esigna ion” (ll. 157-158). Shaughnessy’s
e sion, hen, del es in o he p o agonis ’s de elopmen and p esen s, in he mo he ’s
wo ds, a esigned a he han a willing ic im.
Al eady in he i s speech in Shaughnessy’s e sion, hough no in Eu ipides’
play, Iphigenia shows ha she has in e io ized some alues o A henian socie y when she
p oposes o ha e a sla e gi l sac i iced in he place. Al hough he conscience ells he ha
his seg ega ion be ween ee G eek people and subjuga ed o eign sla es is mo ally
w ong, she jus i ies he idea by ecou se o he uncon ollable ea : “Am I ashamed? No.
/ Fea is s onge han shame” (ll. 109-110). Woman, sla e, and also he animal ha
eplaces Iphigenia du ing he sac i ice in he con es ed ending o Eu ipides’ play a e
conside ed as p opi ia o y o e ings o he gods, so he human s. animal and he ee
pe son s. sla e bina ies do no apply o women in A henian socie y, since hey a e
un ese edly aligned wi h sla es and animals. Al hough Iphigenia would like o hink ha
he e is a di e ence be ween he sel and a sla e, she will esignedly accep o die o he
socie y ha enac s hei sameness. Sla es and ba ba ians a e s a kly con as ed wi h
ci ilized G eeks in he G eek play, bu his us- hem bina y ails again when we see ha
A henian ci iliza ion equi es he mu de o an innocen gi l, while he ba ba ian, he
sla e, is he one who summons he cou age o denounce Agamemnon’s plan o his wi e
Cly emnes a (Gamel 1999: 314).
Shaughnessy’s e sion gi es he soldie s he oppo uni y o p esen hei poin o
iew ins ead o ha ing o he s in e es edly speaking o hem, as in Eu ipides’ play. Two
soldie s ake u ns in hei accusa ions agains Agamemnon and Calchas, and de end
hemsel es om he allega ion ha , in hei despe a e yea ning o wa , hey migh end
up killing he G eeks hemsel es: “As i we couldn’ ell iend om oe” (l. 212). The
alli e a ion o he ini ial ica i e consonan ac ually b ings oge he he wo no ions ha
he soldie s would like o main ain as opposi es. I is emp ing o belie e he soldie s in
hei sel -de ence when hey a e blamed, bu he play in ac disp o es he abili y o
dis inguish iend om oe. Achilles, o ins ance, blames Agamemnon o his scheming
and he soldie s o hei apaci y. E en ually, howe e , he alleged iend u ns o weak-
kneed oe and admi s his sha e o blame in Iphigenia’s sac i ice: “Tha was he i s ime
in my li e I’d el i . Shame” (l. 257).
A cha ac e wi hou speech in he G eek play is he p ies Calchas. Shaughnessy’s
e sion, howe e , le s him p esen his poin o iew. Calchas blames Agamemnon o
choosing ame o e amily, and Odysseus o his duplici ous cha ac e , as he la e
plo ed he mos con enien cou se o e en s o p omo e his ca ee as a wa io wi hou
aking any esponsibili y in Iphigenia’s sac i ice. In e es ingly, in hei espec i e sel -
de ence by blaming one ano he , he G eek cha ac e s all p ey o in e nal di ision and,
o a momen , seem o o ge he ex e nal and mo e acile enemy o pinpoin : he
ba ba ian. Calchas does de end he goddess A emis, as is o be expec ed om a p ies ,
by saying she ga e Agamemnon a choice and disca ds he esponsibili y in he T ojan
Wa s: “The gods a e no in he business / o elling men o go o wa — / hey don’ need

any encou agemen o ha ” (ll. 266-268), an obse a ion ha is also highly pe inen o
ou bellicose p esen imes.
In abou he middle o Shaughnessy’s e sion, Iphigenia, ea ul hough esigned,
goes o he al a bu , once he e, she is aken by he goddess and he body is eplaced by
ha o a dee . This momen o he plo co esponds o he end o he G eek play, bu The
Sac i icial Wind p oceeds o p esen anew o he poin s o iew ega ding he de as a ing
consequences o he a emp ed sac i ice. The mos compelling cha ac e s in his second
pa , because o hei unexpec edness, he poignancy o hei si ua ion and he ankness
o hei exp ession, a e Iphigenia’s sis e s: Ch yso hemis and Elec a. The o me
candidly exp esses, in a p esen -day colloquial egis e ha app oaches he o he mode n
audience, he jealousy and en y o he sis e ’s many i ues and hei pa en s’ p e e ence
o he la e : “She was so bloody good i go on my ne es” (l. 413). Elec a, on he pa ,
ocuses on hei mo he ’s auma ized beha iou and an icipa es u he elabo a ions o
he my h ha ha e Cly emnes a plo wi h Aegis hus —“… a kinsman, one o us / we
hough …” (emphasis added, ll. 470-471) he mu de o Agamemnon. Iphigenia’s a he
is g an ed he oppo uni y o explain his ac ions, and uncon incingly claims ha he
wan ed o sa e G eece om T ojans, he ex e nal enemy: “any hing o keep he ba ba ian
a bay” (l. 550). As o Iphigenia, now leading he li e o an exile in Tau is, she mus
o e see sac i icial i es ha she abho s in he ole o A emis’s p ies ess. She misses
home, bu he ghos ly home she conju es is emp y o people: “no amily, no se an s, no
iends” (l. 567), in an e o o supp ess he ha owing emo ions ha human ies a ouse.
Concluding ema ks
The Sac i icial Wind b ings oge he a dis an pas and cul u e, hose o A henian socie y
in he i h cen u y BCE, and a p esen -day I ish audience. Th ough clues ha signal he
ele ance o he o me o he la e , Shaughnessy dispu es he bina y opposi ion o us s.
hem as one cons i u ed by na ional di e ence and empo al dis ance, and con e sely
highligh s he un emi ing ma ginaliza ion and subjuga ion o women wi hin pa ia chal
socie ies o all imes. The ecou se o classical G eek d ama allows I ish hea e o a oid
he e hnocen ic ocus o some o i s popula plays and opens na ional cul u e o a b oade
Eu opean adi ion. The ela i e s angeness o o eignness o Eu ipides’ agedy
Iphigenia a Aulis allows he mode n audience o de amilia ize he p esen and conside
i om new angles. Howe e , Shaughnessy does no me ely adap a classical play, bu
incisi ely e isi s he mo al dilemmas exposed in Eu ipides’ sc ip , especially in wha
conce ns pa ia chal con igu a ions o gende and na ion, and s esses he colla e al
damage caused by mili a is ambi ions. As i in an implici c i ique o he silencing o
women on an I ish s age ha con inues o supp ess women playw igh s’ wo k,
Shaughnessy no only gi es p ominence o women’s speeches —e en o emale
cha ac e s ha do no ea u e in he G eek play, he eby ex ending he numbe o a ec ed
ic ims— bu also c ea es male cha ac e s ha acknowledge hei sund y complici ies in
he subjec ion o women.
I.4.2. “On ha di e ence is li e g ounded”: Luz Pozo Ga za’s Medea en Co in o
Women Playw igh s is-à- is Galician Thea e
In 2010, Robe o Pascual Rod íguez published an essay on con empo a y Galician
playw igh s he i le o which p o ides an ala ming diagnosis o he anomalous s a e o
Galician d ama in wha conce ns gende balance: “On he Lamen able E ec o C i icism
on he I egula Si ua ion o Galician D ama W i en by Women”. Apa om exp essing
he con ic ion ha li e a y c i icism has been highly ine ec i e in he isibiliza ion o
women playw igh s (ibid. 181), Pascual Rod íguez’s essay sc u inizes he pa icipa ion
o women in Galician hea e in he pe iod 1981-2010 and eaches some dis u bing
conclusions. On he one hand, he au ho a i ms ha he e is a si ua ion o inequali y and
ma ginali y in wha conce ns women c ea o s in Galician d ama ic li e a u e and hea e
(ibid. 181). Howe e , he inds ha he same has no been he case in o he Ibe ian cul u al
sys ems, such as he Spanish-language one, in which women hea e di ec o s and
playw igh s ha e ecei ed he a en ion o academic c i icism, hei wo k has been s aged,
shown in es i als, and has been awa ded p izes, while speci ic compe i ions p omo ing
women di ec o s’ wo k ha e been designed by cul u al ins i u ions.
One oubling phenomenon singled ou by Pascual Rod íguez is ha , a e an
ini ial s imulus owa ds he no maliza ion o hea e in Galician in he 1970s, mo e
women han men abandoned d ama ic w i ing (ibid. 182). Feminis heo y and c i icism,
he a gues, ce ainly mo i a ed women o pa icipa e in all cul u al sphe es, and w i e s
such as Ma ía Xosé Queizán and Xohana To es made de ini e con ibu ions o he gen e
o d ama and, in pa icula , o he con igu a ion o emale p o agonis s who ques ioned
adi ional eminine oles (ibid. 183). My hs had o be ew i en —among hem, classical
G eek ones— and cha ac e s and con lic s had o be e ashioned in esponse o
con empo a y “poli ical, aes he ic, social and economic ci cums ances” (ibid. 183). Due
ecogni ion is also gi en o women playw igh s such as Ánxeles Cuña, Ana Vallés, and
C is ina Domínguez, who managed o s age hei wo k wi h hei own companies. O he
women c ea ed hea e companies such as Salmán iga, Malba a e, Tea o da lúa, al hough
hey had o ace he obs acle o s aging exis ing plays in which emale cha ac e s a e o en
subsidia y o s ong male oles ha d i e he ac ion (ibid. 183).
Pascual Rod íguez e e s o s a is ics om he Ca álogo de d ama u gos galegos
1973-2004 [Ca alogue o Galician Playw igh s] showing ha only wen y-nine pe -cen
o playw igh s we e women a ha ime, al hough w i ing o child en’s hea e was mo e
balanced. The echnical side o hea e was also p edominan ly in male hands (ibid. 184-
185). A simila disc imina ion agains women was o be no iced in he Re is a Galega de
Tea o, which ou o six y ex s, ea u ed only ele en by women, h ee o which we e by
Galician women playw igh s —Do o ea Bá cena, Luísa Villal a and Vanesa So elo—and
he emaining eigh we e ansla ions o non-Galician women au ho s (ibid.: 185). In his
espec , he ansla ion o in e na ional women playw igh s’ wo k, unde aken by he
F ancisco Pillado Mayo Lib a y and A chi e a he Uni e si y o A Co uña, is seen by
Pascual Rod íguez as “c ucial in adding new wo ks ma ked by gende awa eness o he
ex ual co pus o Galician d ama u gy” (ibid. 184). An hologies o Galician hea e o he
ime simila ly ea u ed ew women d ama is s: Ma ía Xosé Queizán, Luísa Villal a and
Inma An ónio Sou o among hem (ibid. 186). The selec ion b ough oge he by Manuel
Lou enzo and F ancisco Pillado Mayo in 1982, o ins ance, only included h ee women
w i e s among a o al o o y-six playw igh s: he sis e s Do a and Pu a Vázquez Iglesias
and Xohana To es.
Luz Pozo Ga za’s Medea en Co in o: Re isi ing G eek My h
I was in his dismal hea ical con ex ha , in 2002, Luz Pozo Ga za had he Medea en
Co in o [Medea in Co in h] i s published in he collec i e olume Medeas. Ve siones
de un mi o desde G ecia has a hoy (López & Pociña 2002: 1177-1227) and he ollowing
yea , 2003, i appea ed as an independen book in a bilingual edi ion —Galician /
Spanish— p oduced by And és Pociña and Au o a López. In hei in oduc ion o he
2003 edi ion, he edi o s ne e use he e m “play” o e e o Pozo Ga za’s piece and
p esen i as a ly ical poem in dialogue o m (2003: 9). The close collabo a ion be ween
he au ho and he edi o s sugges s ha i was Pozo Ga za’s will o p esen he e sion o
he Medea my h as a poem bu , I would like o a gue, e icence possibly due o he limi ed
expe ience in a gen e ha had p o ed o be so inhospi able o women w i e s migh be
among he easons ha led he w i e o op o he ca ego y o poe y a he han ha o
d ama as he gen e ha ames he ex . Al hough i is a long poem — i e hund ed and
se en y- ou lines— i may ha e seemed sho o a ull-leng h play, bu i s dialogue o m,
he in oduc ion o decisi e elemen s o classical hea e such as he Cho us, and he ange
o cha ac e s including Medea, he nu semaid, Jason and people’s oices, oge he wi h
he ex emely in luen ial an eceden hea ical ex s by Eu ipides and Seneca, all sugges
ha i can be ega ded as a play as well, he eby p esen ing a challenge o deba able gen e
bounda ies, as was o en he case in la e wen ie h-cen u y Galician li e a u e au ho ed by
women (González Fe nández 2005: 222). In addi ion o he dialogue o m —al hough no
consis en ly h oughou all he ex , he cha ac e s, including occasionally he Cho us, use
he second-pe son p onoun o add ess each o he —, he absence o an explici ly ical I
dis inc om he cha ac e s also sugges s ha his ex can be ead as a d ama ic poem.
Fu he mo e, he ange o cha ac e s, oge he wi h hei imposing s ance and classical
eloquence, as well as he abundan isual image y, use o deic ics, and e e ences o
speci ic p ops and locali y, encou age eade s o conju e a pe o med ende ing o hose
e ses ons age. A e e se s a emen , by A iane Mnouchkine and he company Théâ e du
Soleil, abou he poe ic quali y o d ama is also applicable o Pozo Ga za’s Medea en
Co in o: “Le héâ e n’es héâ e que s’il es poésie” [ hea e is no hea e i i is no
poe y] (my ansla ion, 2021: 41).
In hei enligh ening in oduc ion o he 2003 edi ion o Medea en Co in o, Pociña
and López p esen Luz Pozo Ga za’s exp essed ese a ions in he p ojec o w i ing his
wo k: he anxie y o dealing wi h he cha ac e o a mo he who kills he child en, o he
ex en ha he w i e conside ed he possibili y o a ex ha would inish be o e hei
mu de , an “inconclusi e” Medea (10). Howe e , he u ge o ully unde s and and explain
he cha ac e o Medea led he au ho o ackle he inal engeance “po que ademais de
b uxa, ademais de c iminal, ademais de ma icida, Medea e a unha mulle as e ada,
enganada, e ida, sob e odo, inmensamen e namo ada” [because besides being a wi ch,
a mu de e , a ilicide, Medea was a disloca ed woman, decei ed, wounded, abo e all,
immensely in lo e] (Pociña & López 2002: 10). I is Medea’s eeling o disloca ion as
she del es in o he condi ion o exile and o eigne , oge he wi h he empo al, cul u al
and geog aphical dis ance o he G eek my h om Galician cul u e in he hi d
millennium ha make Medea en Co in o especially ele an o he ocus o his book on
discou ses on o eignness.
Pociña and López also p o ide, in hei in oduc ion, an accoun o hose o he
Medeas ea u ing in Galician li e a u e be o e he publica ion o Luz Pozo Ga za’s
e sion (2003: 11-13) —cu iously he se en o hem published a e 1980, which is in
acco dance wi h he s imulus a o ded o Galician cul u e by he 1981 Es a u o de
Au onomía de Galicia [S a u e o Au onomy o Galicia]. These p e ious Galician
e sions o he my h o Medea we e ende ed ons age, in sho ic ion and in poe y, bu
hey we e all male-au ho ed. The e o e, he need o ha e he cha ac e o Medea cons ued
by a woman w i e was p essing because, as he playw igh Ánxeles Cuña Bó eda has
a gued, emale s e eo ypes had o be decons uc ed, commonplaces demys i ied, and new
my hs buil in o de o “al e s uc u es o domina ion and submission” (2010: 153). Such
pending asks can and mus be implemen ed by male w i e s oo, o cou se, bu he emale
poin o iew o women’s expe ience mus no be supp essed. Ma ía Xosé Queizán quo es
And és Pociña’s Medea in Cama iñas o s ess he need o emale ende ings o he
my h: “Unha mulle que con ase a miña his o ia segu o que non di ía semellan es cousas
de min” [A woman elling my s o y would ce ainly no say such hings abou me] (2003:
55).
In hei necessa ily b ie su ey o Luz Pozo’s li e a y ca ee , Pociña and López
b oadly si ua e he w i e in he con ex o Galician li e a y cul u e and p o ide
in o ma ion abou hose essen ial pe sonal expe iences wi h an impac on he w i e ’s
de elopmen . One aspec ha will no pass unno iced o new eade s o Luz Pozo Ga za’s
wo k is he dual language li e a y p oduc ion wi h a i s pe iod o w i ing in Cas ilian
Spanish —as e idenced in he publica ion o he poe y collec ion Án o a in 1949— and,
a e he ad en o democ acy in 1975 wi h he subsequen es i u ion o he Galician
language’s o icial s a us, he w i ing in Galician. This dual language adi ion en ails
challenges o no ions o e hnici y, home and belonging ha mus be conside ed in hei
his o ical, poli ical and social con ex , and which des abilize he us- hem di ision and
o he concomi an exclusions ha a igo ous unde s anding o he philological c i e ion
applied in he de ini ion o Galician li e a u e migh encompass (Miguélez-Ca ballei a
2010: 124).
One expec s ha a ew i ing o a classical my h may explo e he ele ance o ha
my h o he w i e ’s con empo a y socie y. Indeed, in p esen -day uses o a pas my h one
de ec s wo seemingly con a y o ces: one ha b ings in all he s angeness o a pas and
dis an cul u e, and ano he ha a emp s o es ablish connec ions be ween he sou ce and
he a ge cul u es. The s angeness o he pas my h will no only pu ou ecep i eness
o he es bu may also become a help ul ool in he de amilia iza ion o con lic s ha we
expe ience daily bu he unde s anding o which has become hackneyed. S angeness
impels us o conside a pa icula si ua ion om a new angle and may help us in inding
al e na i e ways o coping wi h a con lic . This may ha e been Luz Pozo Ga za’s case,
when she ini ially el aliena ed om a my h abou a mo he who kills he own child en
ou o engeance on hei a he , he man who be ayed he lo e. Howe e , he e o o
unde s and he complexi y o Medea and o o e come ha ea ly ejec ion allowed he
w i e o del e in o ci cums ances, such as Medea’s o eignness, he pain on being
II. Glocal Iden i ies in T ansla ion
In spi e o he globalizing endencies ha p omo e English as a lingua anca, he
e nacula languages o a ious Eu opean egions ha e de ised a se ies o s a egies, in
o de o su i e and become isible, which include he s eng hening o cul u al bonds
wi h o he mino i ized languages and ansla ion p ojec s among hem, wi h o wi hou
he media ion o English. The p esen chap e analyses a numbe o ansla ions o I ish
and Galician poe y by paying a en ion o hei cons uc ion o glocal iden i ies, as he
local is ans e ed o a o eign language and cul u e. Place will be an impo an no ion,
since I eland and Galicia ha e o en been cons ued as sha ing, among o he
cha ac e is ics, simila geog aphical and landscape ea u es. Al hough a good numbe o
he examples o be discussed e ince he mu ual ecogni ion o place, a en ion needs o
be paid o a ious signals o esis ance o such ecogni ion.
The an hology To he Winds Ou Sails. I ish W i e s T ansla e Galician Poe y
(O’Donnell & Palacios 2010) ga he s he poems o en Galician women w i e s and hei
espec i e ansla ions, in o English and I ish, by a numbe o I ish poe s. Wi h hese
ansla ions, I ish w i e s wish o ecip oca e he longs anding in e es ha Galicia has
had in I eland as well as o con ibu e o he isibiliza ion o mino i ized e nacula s and
women w i e s’ wo k. In he ansla ion o Ma ía Lado’s poem “ es” / “ h ee” o his
an hology (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010: 138-139), he I ish poe Máigh éad Medbh chose
o lea e one wo d in Galician, wi hou ansla ion, and o explain i s meaning in a
oo no e. Lado’s poem p esen s he s uggles o he inhabi an s o a small island ha is
e ociously pounded by an ocean whe e ships w eck and lose hei ca go. This seascape
immedia ely conju es a no o ious s e ch o he Galician coas known as Cos a da Mo e
[Coas o Dea h],17 a name ha is commonly associa ed wi h he nume ous shipw ecks in
his a ea bu ha may also de i e om he ac ha he sun se s on he wes e n coas o
Galicia. Cos a da Mo e is also Lado’s home locali y in Galicia and he place whe e she
ini ia ed he li e a y ca ee alongside a g oup o poe s called Ba allón Li e a io da Cos a
da Mo e [Li e a y Ba alion o Cos a da Mo e]. The wo d ha Máigh éad Medbh chose
no o ansla e was “pe cebes” and he explana ion o he e m in he oo no e was
“‛Pe cebes’ a e gooseneck ba nacles, a delicacy in Galicia” (ibid. 139). Reade s’ a en ion
will mos likely be d awn o he obus p esence o ha non- ansla ed wo d, which is
addi ionally yped in bold bo h in he o iginal and in he ansla ed e sions: “e é po iso
que os pe cebes enganan con oces de se ea” / “and pe cebes sing hem like si ens”
(ibid.: 138-139). The ansla ed line gains in e seness bo h wi h i s omission o he ini ial
clause and i s causal ph ase —and i is because o his ha […]— as well as wi h he
comp ession o he e b ph ase “enganan con oces de se ea” —li e ally: hey decei e
wi h si en oices— in o Medbh’s ec ea ion “sing hem like si ens”, as he allusion o The
Odyssey is clea and needs no u he pa icula s.
S e en Ve o ec has a gued ha e en “ anslocal unde s andings” a e “ancho ed in
places, wi h a a ie y o legal, poli ical and cul u al ami ica ions, no only o p ac ices
and meanings, bu o he places as well” (2009: 12). This chap e will concei e
17 In his chap e , he ansla ions in squa e b acke s a e mine, while hose in quo a ion ma ks a e by each
espec i e poe he e discussed.

ansla ion as a kind o “ anslocal unde s anding” and will examine bo h he way
ansla ions emain ancho ed o a place and he e ec s ha de i e om his oo edness.
Lado’s poem, hough highly symbolic and me ali e a y, abounds also in p ecise economic
and en i onmen al allusions alongside hei concomi an social and cul u al p ac ices.
The name o he island in he poem is “no emb o” / “no embe ”, a e e ence o he mon h
when he oil- anke P es ige sank o he Galician coas in 2002, con amina ed he coas
wi h i s oil spillage and se e ely damaged he ishing-based economy. This en i onmen al
ca as ophe had poli ical, social and cul u al consequences, since Galician w i e s we e
o en a he head o social mobiliza ions agains he poli ical mismanagemen o he c isis
which led, in pa , o he de ea o he conse a i e pa y hen in powe in he ollowing
Spanish (2004) and Galician (2005) pa liamen a y elec ions. The oil spillage also became
he s imulus o nume ous w i e s o o m ne wo ks whose ac i i ies and p ojec s had
a is ic and o ganiza ional consequences which wen beyond he denuncia ion o he
spillage. Ano he socio-economic ea u e o he place depic ed in he poem is insc ibed
in he wo d “pe cebes”, which alludes bo h o his sea ood, which has become a e y
expensi e delicacy in Spain, and o he dange ous ha es ing p ac ice i equi es because,
as he poem explains, he bes gooseneck ba nacles hide in deep g o oes bea en by s ong
wa es. I is o his eason ha Ma ía Lado speaks in he poem o decei ul and emp ing
ba nacles, o he blind g eed o men and o he ocean ha swallows he ishe men now
and hen. Lado’s poem clea ly illus a es Ve o ec’s no ion o he sund y social
“ ami ica ions” gene a ed by a pa icula place. This chap e aims o analyse he
ancho age o li e a u e in place and he e ec s o hose social “ ami ica ions” on
ansla ion.
One o he edi o s’ asks in pu ing oge he he collec ion To he Winds Ou Sails
consis ed in explaining all hese cul u al speci ici ies o Galicia o he I ish w i e s who
pa icipa ed wi h hei ansla ions because, in spi e o he common A lan ic Ocean sha ed
by I eland and Galicia —an ocean ha can be en isaged as a “ anslocali y” ha has gi en
ise h ough cen u ies o impo an ansna ional exchanges be ween bo h communi ies
— a numbe o economic and cul u al p ac ices emain alien o each o he . I is his
s angeness ha he wo d “pe cebes” pa en ly mani es s and ha Máigh éad Medbh,
clea -sigh edly, main ained in he English e sion by no ansla ing i . When asked abou
he easons ha led he o keep he Galician wo d in he English e sion, Medbh
men ioned he conce n o o mal aspec s such as ypog aphy, “all hose ounded le e s”
(2012), and phone ics, “ o ep oduce as much o he Galician sound as I could” (ibid.),
bu she was also in en on con eying he social “aspec s o he oism and despe a ion”
(ibid.) en ailed by he ha es ing o ba nacles: “Re aining hei own gi en name, he
pe cebes become ac i e pe sonali ies wi h all he s eng h o hei na i e en i onmen .
I' e allowed hem o s ay s eady and unchanged on hei cli s, mys e ious and powe ul”
(ibid.). Medbh’s s a egy is in line wi h Law ence Venu i’s admoni ion ha ansla ion
should no enac “a labo o accul u a ion which domes ica es he o eign ex ” (1992: 5).
The I ish poe Michael O’Loughlin, in his back co e commen a y on he
an hology, highligh s he bonds be ween Galicia and I eland bu epea edly quali ies hese
ies by signalling he s angeness ha pe sis s in hese communi ies’ ecip ocal glance:
“Galicia has long been seen as ou dis an , neglec ed o e seas cousin” (2010), “[he
poe y is] s angely amilia ” (ibid.). The amily ope ha binds bo h communi ies is
coun e balanced by he ela i e o he ness ha Galicia s ill embodies o I eland. Qui e
coinciden ally, O’Loughlin illus a es, wi h a e e ence o Ma ía Lado’s poem, his belie
in he capaci y o ansla ion o nego ia e hese “clashing ides” be ween bo h
communi ies. I is o his eason ha his pa icula example o a ansla ion p ac ice has
s a ed his e lec ion on glocal iden i ies in ansla ion, ansna ional ies and he ensions
be ween global o ces and local claims.
“The common language o Eu ope is ansla ion”, main ains he I alian philosophe
Giacomo Ma amao (2011), who hus acknowledges he pe sis ence o di e si y and
di e ence in he ace o he cul u al homogeniza ion b ough abou by globalizing
economic and poli ical p ac ices. The Eu opean Union ecognizes, as o icial languages
o he sup ana ional ins i u ion, he s a e languages o he a ious membe coun ies —
hough no o he o icial e nacula s spoken in smalle a eas o hese same coun ies, as
is he case wi h Galician. The Union also ecommends he lea ning o wo o he Eu opean
languages bu does no speci y which ones. The ac ha he e is no o icial common
language o all he membe coun ies o he Union leads, he e o e, o he necessi y o
ansla ion. Since his is seen by many as a p oblem o in e -communicabili y, English is,
in p ac ice, he mos common second language used in Eu ope and is included as an
obliga o y subjec in he school cu iculum o many coun ies (Bas a das i Boada 2007:
116). The e is he isk, howe e , ha some speake s may pe cei e his majo posi ion o
English as o e bea ing, which is he eason why w i e s o mino i ized languages ha e
b ough o wa d a a ie y o esponses o his con lic . The I ish poe Biddy Jenkinson,
o ins ance, has e used o ha e he I ish-language poe y ansla ed in o English,
al hough she accep s o ha e i ansla ed in o o he o eign languages such as F ench.
O he I ish-language poe s, howe e , o en p oduce dual-language edi ions o hei
w i ings. Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill has published bilingual collec ions in which o he
English-language w i e s ec ea e, in English, he Gaelic poems, while Celia de F éine
usually makes he own ansla ions o he I ish-language poe y in o English. P ac ices
such as de F eine’s en ail a special in e oga ion o he common dicho omy o iginal /
ansla ion, since bo h ex s a e o he same au ho ship and bo h appea published
simul aneously in he same collec ion, so i is easonable o expec ha he w i e has
polished bo h e sions concu en ly by swi ching om one o ano he . In cases like his
one, he ques ion may e en a ise as o which e sion was concei ed i s , whe he he
I ish o he English one.
One o Galicia’s bes -known w i e s, Manuel Ri as, whose wo k has been
ansla ed in o nume ous in e na ional languages, usually has his wo k published i s in
Galician and, subsequen ly, in Cas ilian Spanish. His poe y collec ion A desapa ición da
ne e (2009), howe e , was i s published in a mul ilingual edi ion which included he
o iginal Galician e sion alongside he Ca alan, Basque and Cas ilian ansla ions. The
easons he adduced o his mul ilingual o ma we e, in he li e a y c i ic and poe Ma ín
Veiga’s wo ds, “an a emp o emo e he ongoing social and poli ical emphasis laid on
linguis ic con lic and o gene a e a g ea e ecogni ion o he ichness o linguis ic
plu ali y as a weal h ha should be easu ed” (2012: 10). O he w i e s like o expe imen
wi h a ious possible combina ions o majo and mino i ized languages. The Galician
poe Ma ía do Ceb ei o, o ins ance, has del ed in o he occasional use o English,
F ench and Spanish i les o he Galician-language poems: “I belie e in an idea o
language ha is cons an ly con amina ed by o he languages, oices, sounds. […] I am
e y much d awn o he isual o ce o ha clash be ween a hegemonic language and a
language such as Galician, only spoken in ha iny co ne in Spain” (2008: 11). The poe
hus u ns he con lic ha esul s om he powe imbalance be ween languages in o a
c ea i e s a egy o e ile miscegena ion. Some hing simila happens wi h he poe y by
Lois Pe ei o, a w i e whose amilia i y wi h and ondness o o he Eu opean languages
and li e a u es has led him o embed nume ous o eign exp essions and quo a ions in his
Galician-language ex s: “Non podo eludi a en ación de con e i a noi e en nigh ou
Nach ” [I canno a oid he emp a ion o u ning noi e in o nigh o Nach ] (apud Ri as
1985: 8).
The e is an incon o e ible in e es in pu ing he ex ao dina y powe o
dissemina ion o an in e na ional language such as English a he se ice o mino i ized
languages in dual-language edi ions whe e he geog aphically and demog aphically
es ic ed e nacula language is accompanied by he English ansla ion (Palacios 2012a:
7-8). These edi ions need o be bilingual so as o a oid he u he supp ession o he
mino i ized language by concealing i and hus ende ing i i ele an . Th oughou he
nine een h and ea ly wen ie h cen u ies, a se ies o cul u al associa ions in I eland we e
conce ned abou he d ama ic loss o I ish-language speake s. A numbe o in ellec uals
wi h e y di e se agendas, such as James Cla ence Mangan and Samuel Fe guson i s
and, a e wa ds, Lady G ego y and Pa ick Pea se, de o edly engaged in he ansla ion
and / o ec ea ion in English o popula o al cul u e wi h he objec i e o sa ing his
cul u al pa imony om obli ion (Kinsella 1995: 53, 58, 66, 72). The i ony was, howe e ,
ha much o his olk wisdom could only su i e in English and ha he linguis ic policies
implemen ed did no manage o aba e he loss o speake s o Gaelic. The e o e, one needs
o be awa e o he isk o he bea hug when a wo ld language emb aces a mino i ized
one. T ansla ion should be, in his case, a si e whe e he imbalance in he powe ela ions
o languages can be enego ia ed in ai e e ms. The possibili y o bilingual edi ions is
limi ed, howe e , by budge es ic ions, and some gen es seem mo e hospi able o his
dual-language p ac ice han o he s. I is no uncommon o ind bilingual poe y
collec ions, especially when hey consis o he con en ional one-page poem, bu i is less
common o ind ull- ledged no els in his bilingual o ma .
The apid sp ead o he English language is a mani es a ion o p esen -day
globalizing o ces, bu globaliza ion a ouses a deep anxie y in people. In I eland —“one
o he mos globalized coun ies in he wo ld” in Bob Hol on’s wo ds (2008)— some
w i e s, such as Paula Meehan, see globaliza ion as a mode n e sion o impe ialism ha
only se es he in e es s o Fi s -Wo ld na ions (Mo ales Lad ón, and Elices Agudo 2011:
6). Dei d e Madden has also a owed he suspicion o globaliza ion, as she does no see
ha wo ld-wide a el o elecommunica ions ha e eally made people empa hize wi h
one ano he : “My loyal ies would always be wi h he local”, she a i ms (Mo ales Lad ón
2011: 249). Cu iously enough, i is no jus disempowe ed s a eless na ions ha eel
menaced by globaliza ion bu also s ong na ion s a es, as hey pe cei e a g owing loss o
au onomy —na ion s a es a e, howe e , impo an agen s o globaliza ion, as hey
libe alize and de egula e he ma ke , p i a ize public se ices and b ing down bo de s
(Cas ells 2003: 9-10, 15).
The local has also had i s sha e o a acks when associa ed wi h de oga o y e ms
like pa ochial o p o incial. Ma y O’Donnell has been highly c i ical o hose discou ses
o in e io iza ion ha dismiss a ce ain li e a y p oduc by b anding i as local (González
A ias 2011: 266). She has also exp essed he c i ique o alue-judgemen s, wi hin he
I ish li e a y sys em, ha e ishize e ms such as “in e na ional” o “Eu opean”, and she
has in e oga ed he equen capi ula ion o I ish cul u e o English c i e ia o alue
(2007: 159; 2010a: 201).
The e is a gene al penchan o oppose he global o he local as i hey we e wo
incompa ible no ions. Howe e , de ini ions o he e m “globaliza ion” usually b ing
hem oge he : “Globaliza ion is he p ocess whe eby indi idual li es and local
communi ies a e a ec ed by economic and cul u al o ces ha ope a e wo ld-wide”
(Ashc o & G i i hs & Ti in 2007: 100). The e o e, he phenomenon o globaliza ion
can only be assessed h ough i s e ec on he local. I is p obably he ailu e o he e m
“globaliza ion” o ully con ey i s ela ionship wi h he local ha has s imula ed he use
o he e m “glocal”, a wo d ha o igina ed in Japanese en ep eneu ship bu which soon
p oli e a ed in sociology in he 1990s (Bas a das i Boada 2007: 29). I would be
in e es ing o analyse, howe e , he con e se case: he ex en o which he local can
ans o m he global ei he h ough s a egies o esis ance o by p o iding eme gen and
al e na i e discou ses. T ansla ion p ac ices ha enego ia e powe ela ions (global-
local, male- emale, No h-Sou h, e c.) could p oduce such al e na i e discou ses. One
should all he same ake heed o Gaya i Spi ak’s wa ning abou “ he discou se o cul u al
speci ici y and di e ence, packaged o ansna ional consump ion” (1989: 276). The
dange in his case is o p o ide a ligh e sion o o eignness ha can a el well and be
diges ible in an in e na ional con ex . This could lead o a ein o cemen o s e eo ypes o
iden i y signs ha may be easily unde s ood by eade s wo ldwide.
Edi o s, publishe s and ansla o s o ansla ed li e a u e ha e a delica e ole as hey
police wha is o is no app op ia e o o eign consump ion. When I edi ed he an hology
Plu i e sos. Seis poe as i landesas de hoxe (Palacios 2003), I was in e es ed in he
ele ance o con empo a y I ish w i ing o he Galician li e a y sys em and socie y: he
eme gence o women w i e s, women’s eapp op ia ion o hei bodies, he c i ique o
Ca holic and Biblical discou ses on eminini y, he si ua ion o e nacula languages, he
hyb idi y o iden i ies which esul s om p ocesses o coloniza ion, e c. Rele ance,
howe e , is no sameness, al hough i en ails a so o amily esemblance and he
possibili y o lea ning om each o he . Dialogue is mo e likely o h i e in he mee ing
poin o ela i ely, a he han adically, di e en ac o s. In Plu i e sos, he s angeness
o he Gaelic e sions o Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill’s poems was ein o ced by he absence o
an English ansla ion ha migh p o ide some media ion o Galician eade s acquain ed
wi h he English language bu no wi h he less amilia I ish one.
As I edi ed he an hology Fo ked Tongues. Galician, Basque and Ca alan Women’s
Poe y in T ansla ions by I ish W i e s (Palacios 2012b), he Galician poe Lupe Gómez
A o sugges ed, upon my consul a ion, I include some ex s om he ecen book
Diálogos Imposíbeis [Impossible Dialogues] (2010). These a e ex s which abound in
e e ences o local places and people unknown o a o eign eade , so I had o weigh which
was he p ope amoun o speci ici y I should include in my selec ion. The c i e ia I
ollowed o my decision we e ela ed o he gen e o he ex s, he o e all deg ee o
o eignness o he an hology and he expec ed eade . The poems om Diálogos
Imposíbeis I included in he an hology con ain e e ences o one Galician and one Spanish
w i e , a local uni e si y p o esso , a ca é in he own whe e he poe esides, one local
olk music ins umen , local po celain, e c. Some o hese cul u ally-speci ic allusions
equi ed cla i ying no es, bu he gen e o poe y is pa icula ly a en i e o he o mal
layou o he lines on he page, and c amming he page wi h oo no es o numbe s o
endno es did no seem o be he igh solu ion. I had o decide which allusions migh be
o ally s ange o a o eign eade and hen I included an appendix wi h no es a he end
o he an hology. I only used no es o wha I deemed we e local, no in e na ional,
e e ences, so I explained, o ins ance, who Xohana To es was, bu no Wim Wende s.
I also conside ed which o hose allusions migh only ha e Galician- o Spanish-language
en ies on he in e ne and would be, he e o e, li le known o he common English-
language eade . I inse ed, howe e , no numbe s o hose no es on he ex s and us ed
he eade would no ice, on he ini ial Con en s page, ha he e was a inal sec ion wi h
no es. The poems by Gómez A o ha I selec ed seemed o ha e ewe local e e ences
han o he ex s in he collec ion, and I chose hem because, o e all, he an hology Fo ked
Tongues al eady had a high deg ee o s angeness o an English-language eade wi h i s
o iginal e sions o Galician, Basque and Ca alan poe y. The an hology was published
by Shea sman, an English publishe , and I he e o e had an English-language audience in
mind.
One sou ce o anxie y conce ning globaliza ion is ha he wo ld should become “a
single place” (Ashc o & G i i hs & Ti in 2007: 100). Akhil Gup a and James Fe guson
main ain ha “a ansna ional public sphe e has ce ainly ende ed any s ic ly bounded
sense o communi y o locali y obsole e” (1992: 9). Indeed, A jun Appadu ai has a gued
ha elec onic media ion has p oduced i ual neighbou hoods which ha e led o a
disjunc u e be ween e i o y and indi idual o collec i e subjec i i y (1995: 213). These
new ci cums ances ha e no gone unno iced o w i e s, who elish in he con as be ween
old and new social ne wo ks. Such is he case o he I ish poe Anne Le Ma quand
Ha igan, who, in he poem “Ba e Necessi y”, con as s he isola ion o a woman emig an
in he ea ly wen ie h cen u y wi h he descendan s’ acili ies o a el and
communica ion: “Th owing li e-lines o oice / Ac oss oceans” (1993: 113). As we see
in he ph ase “li e-lines o oice”, elecommunica ions ha e also had hei impac on
poe ic opes.
Simila ly, he Galician poe Ma ía do Ceb ei o has echa ged he me apho ical
impo o he wo d “na ega ” [na iga e / sail] in he esponse o Xohana To es’s
ew i ing o he Penelope my h in The Odyssey. I To es makes he Penelope exclaim
ha she also wan s o ake o sea: “EU TAMÉN NAVEGAR” [I oo sail] (2004: 251),
Ma ía do Ceb ei o makes he poe ic pe sona su he Wo ld Wide Web: “EU TAMÉN
NAVEGAR / […] / Na ede a miña casa é o al abe o” [I oo sail/su oo … On he web
my home is he alphabe ] (2005: 104). Al hough Appadu ai belie es ha new
echnologies inc ease “di icul ies o ela ing o, o indeed p oducing, ‘locali y’” (1995:
213), Ve o ec main ains ha “ he e ha e eme ged, ins ead, new ‘ anslocali ies’” (2009:
12). The apid inc ease in ansna ional connec ions be ween social g oups in ecen imes
is, in Ve o ec’s iew, “a key mani es a ion o globaliza ion” (2009, 2).
T anslocali ies and ansna ional connec ions, howe e , a e no an exclusi e
mani es a ion o mode n p ocesses o globaliza ion. As Ve o ec eminds us, social and
cul u al p ac ices de i ed om pa icula locali ies “ha e always been ans e ed and
eg ounded” (2009: 12). A anslocali y ha has adi ionally connec ed Galicia and

I eland is, o ins ance, he A lan ic Ocean. Galician na ionalism has had ecou se o his
common space o es ablish my hical, poli ical and cul u al ies wi h I eland. This p o es
ha na ionalism is no necessa ily an essen ialis and isola ionis p ojec , as i p oduces a
se ies o discou ses o kinship wi h o he na ions which a e pe cei ed as sha ing simila
social ci cums ances. Since he second hal o he nine een h cen u y, Galician
in ellec uals ha e elabo a ed on he alleged Cel ic b o he hood ha bonds Galicia and
I eland by ci cula ing discou ses om he medie al manusc ip Lebo Gabála É en
[Book o In asions o I eland] on he my hical common ounde s o I eland and Galicia:
he Sons o Mil (Lamas 2012: 109-110, 121-123). Decades la e , in he 1920s and 30s,
he g oup o Galician in ellec uals called Xe ación Nós [Gene a ion Ou sel es] con inued
o o ge he ies be ween bo h na ions on he basis o a common Volksgeis nou ished by
hei common geog aphical loca ion on he A lan ic (Risco 1921). O special in e es o
his a icle is hei ansla ion wo k, as hey ende ed he poe y and d ama o W.B. Yea s
in o Galician (Vila Pon e 1921) and p o ided a pionee ansla ion o subs an ial
agmen s o James Joyce’s Ulysses in 1926 (O e o Ped ayo 1926). The main easons o
hei choice o w i e s we e hei common in e es in Cel ic my hology, he s uggle o
na ional so e eign y, he deep oo edness o Ca holicism in I eland and Galicia, and he
in e na ional epu e o hese wo I ish w i e s. Wha emains o be analysed, howe e , is
he li le a en ion hey paid o Gaelic-language w i e s since, by he 1920s, Gaelic cul u e
was sp eading in e na ionally, al hough mainly h ough i s English-language
p ac i ione s. The apex o mode nis li e a u e ha W.B. Yea s and James Joyce s ood o
and ha Galician in ellec uals desi ed o engage wi h was w i en in English (Caneda
Cab e a 2009). In pa icula , we ind an in e es in I eland on he pa o ce ain Galician
in ellec uals who saw hemsel es as sha ing common conce ns such as geog aphic
si ua ion, ounda ional my hs, e hnic backg ound, na ional awa eness in he ace o
coloniza ion, eligious belie s and linguis ic con lic . The ansla ion and ec ea ion o
I ish li e a u e by Xe ación Nós was, howe e , a unila e al e o , wi h no co espondence
on he pa o I ish w i e s in he ea ly decades o he wen ie h cen u y.
Nowadays, we migh be emp ed o belie e ha na ionalism has no place and no
u u e in a globalized wo ld, bu as Will Kymlicka and Ch is ine S aehle ha e a gued,
“secession emains a li e issue” wi hin Wes e n democ acies, p ecisely because building
he na ion-s a e has o en en ailed “na ion-des oying” (1999: 76). In en ing he na ion-
s a e has equi ed o ge ing local di e ences, bu memo y is s ubbo n and no easily
wiped ou . Fu he mo e, he anxie ies p o oked by globaliza ion abou he
homogeniza ion o he wo ld eigni e na ionalis claims and, ice e sa, he ea o
isola ionism os e s ansna ional p ac ices and ins i u ions. Ra he han opposi es,
globaliza ion and na ionalism seem o s imula e each o he . A any a e, globaliza ion
seems o pose no isk o obli e a ion o he local a p esen because, as Tom Inglis
main ains: “The mo e sameness, he g ea e need o indi idual, local and na ional
cul u al di e ences o be c ea ed and main ained” (2008: 259). T ansla ion has a key ole
o play a his s age in he dissemina ion o he local h ough ansna ional p ojec s ha
in ol e bo h s a eless na ions and na ion-s a es. Such ansla ional / ansna ional
ini ia i es p oduce eme gen discou ses which, as Michael C onin has sugges ed, help us
concei e o place in a mo e dynamic and poli ically sophis ica ed ashion:
[…] in he in es iga ion o he links be ween cul u e, place and language [...]
i will be possible o de elop a eading o , o example, non-me opoli an
expe ience which is no condemned o a wis ul passéisme bu is owa d-
looking in i s es o a ion o poli ical complexi y and cul u al dynamism o all
a eas o e i o y and memo y. (2006: 18)
Recip oci y be ween empowe ed and disempowe ed cul u es and languages seems o be
a good s a ing g ound o ansla ion p ojec s. Also, he ansna ional imagina y could be
elaunched as a po en s a egy o dissemina e knowledge abou he local. As we shall see
in he ollowing example o poe y in ansla ion, his may esul in in e es ing images o
hyb idi y and sync e ism. When he Galician poe Luz Pozo Ga za was asked o choose
i e o he poems o he an hology To he Winds Ou Sails. I ish W i e s T ansla e
Galician Poe y (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010) so ha he I ish poe Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
could ansla e hem in o English and I ish, Pozo Ga za selec ed poe y she had w i en
abou he imp essions o I eland (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010: 30-43). This seems a
welcome illus a ion o ecip oci y. The Galician poe w o e abou I eland and he I ish
poe , who usually w i es he poe y in Gaelic bu has he wo k ansla ed in o English by
o he w i e s, ende ed Pozo Ga za’s lines in o bo h English and Gaelic — he lingua
anca and he I ish e nacula . The un equi ed ansla ion en e p ise o Xe ación Nós
was now, a las , ecip oca ed. As Ma y O’Donnell explains in he in oduc ion o he
an hology ha ga he s hese poems, “ he e was a dea h o in o ma ion and in e es in
I eland ega ding Galician poe s” (2010b: 15).
The poems ha Pozo Ga za selec ed o his collec ion owe much o hei
inspi a ion o na ionalis discou ses om he la e nine een h and ea ly wen ie h cen u ies,
which e ol ed a ound he Cel ic b o he hood o he A lan ic na ions. Howe e , wha
may seem oday like esidual discou se on Cel icism is e i i ied in he Galician poe ’s
hands, as she in es s he adi ionally bellicose accoun o he o eign ounde s wi h he
a ec ions o he mo he -daugh e bond. This s a s a se ies o opes o hyb idi y, as he
Galician mo he isi s he daugh e , who ma ied and I ishman, in Dublin. In “Os palacios
de in e no” / “Win e Palaces” (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010: 30-31), he anslocali y o
he A lan ic ac s as one o he links be ween bo h na ions: “a alianza / dunha linaxe cel a
en dúas ibei as” / “ he alliance o a Cel ic lineage / on wo sho es” (ibid.). This alliance
should no in ol e, howe e , he e asu e o he daugh e ’s o iginal na ional iden i y: “Non
esquezas a pa ia” / “Do no o ge you na i e land” (ibid.). Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
in e es ingly u ns “ a he land” in o “na i e land”, hus a oiding no only he gende
dicho omy be ween a he land and mo he land bu also any possible jingois ic
conno a ions. Apa om he common ea u es sha ed by I eland and Galicia, Pozo Ga za
is a en i e o singula I ish places and pays homage o I ish cul u al speci ici y and
achie emen s in he poems: he Hill o How h, B an’s sea, he dolmens, he Sidhe, Yea s,
he ound owe s, o ques and o he easu es o he Kingdom o Ta a, d uids, he Tua ha
Dé Danann, he symbols o he ha p and he ose, e c. In he ansla ion o “A alon
A alon” (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010: 40-43), Ní Dhomhnaill ac ually seems o modi y
“A alon” — he Welsh name o he A hu ian legenda y island— o b ing i o an I ish
con ex , so “Emain Ablach” and “A alon” a e u ned in o “Eamhain Úllach”, and “País
das mazai as” [land o apple- ees] in o “Oileán na n-Úll Cumh a” [ he Island o F ag an
Apples]. We pe cei e, hen, wo simul aneous lines o o ce in bo h he o iginal e sion
and i s ansla ion: one o assimila ion and ano he one o singula i y and di e ence.
The e a e momen s, howe e , o e ec i e sync e ism, as in he inal line o “Páxina
A lán ica” / “Page o he A lan ic” (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010: 38-39), whe e he poe
e e s o he camellia, an omnip esen lowe in Galician win e ga dens, as he “camelia
gaélica do xa dín de Bínn Eadai ” / “ he Gaelic camellia in he ga den o Bínn Eadai ”
(ibid.).
Concluding Rema ks
This chap e has inqui ed in o hose ansla ion s a egies ha main ain he local
singula i y o li e a y ex s in ansna ional cul u al p ojec s. A en ion has been paid o
he anxie ies p o oked by ill-sui ed no ions o globaliza ion and na ionalism, and
ansla ion has been deemed a e y ap ool o o e come such anxie ies. The key no ions
o ecip oci y and dialogue ac oss ela i e di e ence in ansla ion p ojec s ha e p o ided
a ai basis o enego ia e bonds be ween empowe ed and disempowe ed g oups.
Likewise, i has been a gued ha collabo a ion and hyb idi y in ansla ion a e no a all
incompa ible wi h and need no e ace cul u al speci ici y. As he edi o o an hologies o
poe y in ansla ion, I ha e del ed, wi h some necessa y ese a ions, in o his gen e’s
speci ici ies o he ep esen a ion o o eignness and ha e a gued o dual-language
edi ions o poe y in o de o g an mino i ized e nacula s hei due isibili y and
ele ance. Finally, he local has been p oposed as a po en ial si e o esis ance o
homogenizing o ces due o i s capaci y o pu o wa d al e na i e discou ses ha ake
issue wi h globalizing imposi ions.
III. Mixing Memo y and Desi e: Women W i e s’ Emig a ion and Wande lus
Do communi ies ha ha e su e ed auma ic expe iences o massi e emig a ion, because
o calami ous economic o poli ical condi ions, ha e a s ained ela ionship wi h he
expe ience o a el? Bo h I eland and Galicia wen h ough epea ed wa es o emig a ion
o Ame ica and a ious Eu opean coun ies du ing he nine een h and wen ie h cen u ies,
an expe ience which le an indelible ma k on hei li e a u e. In I eland, emig a ion was
almos cons an om he ime o he amines in he 1840s un il he 1990s. Hea he Ingman
in o ms us ha o y pe cen o I ish-bo n people we e li ing ab oad in he 1920s (2009:
122). Likewise, Galicia expe ienced a massi e mig a o y pa e n simila o ha o o he
sou he n coun ies in Eu ope om he 1870s o he 1930s, wi h an impo an second wa e
o emig a ion in he 1960s (Cagiao Vila 2009: 64).The much-imp o ed economic
ci cums ances in I eland and Galicia, du ing he 1990s and ea ly yea s o he wen y- i s
cen u y, allowed many o hose emig an s, o hei descendan s, o e u n o hei amily
homeland, while hose who had emained in hei espec i e na i e lands began o a el
o he sake o b oadening hei ho izons and es ing hei capaci y o ace he challenges
o he unknown. The 2007 inancial c isis changed, once again, he cou se o mig a o y
lows: emig a ion was again en isaged as a solu ion o ising unemploymen in I eland
and Galicia; con e sely, a signi ican numbe o immig an s le bo h coun ies and
e u ned o hei homelands.18
Women’s adi ional cons ic ion o he domes ic sphe e and u elage by hei male
ela i es —limi a ions which, howe e , ha e o en been disallowed by he expe ience o
o ced emig a ion— ende emale subjec s as likely o iew new a el oppo uni ies as
a libe a ing and yea ned o expe ience. This chap e will ocus on con empo a y I ish
and Galician women w i e s’ pe cep ions o a el and on he way hei wande lus
in e ac s wi h hose pe sonal and social e e ences which cons i u e hei iden i y. In o de
o build a co pus o ou g oup’s esea ch p ojec s on women’s mobili y and encoun e
wi h o eignness (I Gal.es 2010-2016), I passed, o a selec ion o women w i e s o
a ious li e a y gen es in I eland and Galicia, a se o ques ions ega ding hei iews on
he his o y o mig a ion and exile in hei amilies and hei unde s anding o how his
expe ience ma ked hem ei he on a pe sonal o a p o essional le el. The w i e s we e
also asked abou he a el oppo uni ies hey ha e enjoyed, he impac o hese jou neys
on hei w i ing, hei collabo a ions wi h o eign a is s and he ins i u ions which ha e
a ou ed his app oach o he O he . Bo h he ins uc ions and he ques ionnai e we e he
same o all w i e s, excep o he language used —English o Galician. The selec ion o
pa icipa ing au ho s included di e en gene a ions wi h he objec i e o egis e he
changing pa e ns and a i udes owa ds a el h ough a sequence o decades. The me hod
employed did no pu sue s a is ical signi icance, bu simply sough o p o ide a space o
w i e s o e lec on a el, mig a ion and he encoun e wi h o eignness. The au ho s
who pa icipa ed by answe ing his ques ionnai e we e he ollowing: om I eland, Celia
18 Fo a popula his o y o he a ious immig a ion wa es o I eland om he island’s i s S one Age se le s
o Polish immig an s in he Cel ic Tige pe iod, see Hega y (2009). In 2021, he e we e in Galicia 4.21
pe cen o people bo n ab oad (Punzón 2021). The impac o he economic down u n on Galician popula ion
showed ha , in 2011, he e was a dec ease in he a i al o descendan s o o me Galician emig an s, and
inc easing numbe o immig an s who e u ned o hei coun ies o o igin (Punzón 2011).
Almos se en y pe cen o Celia de F éine’s a els a e di ec ly connec ed wi h he
w i ing ac i i ies, and she inds hem bene icial, as hey inspi e he o look anew a he
own coun y. She needs o be “ elaxed and cu -o om all communica ion” in o de o
w i e poe y, condi ions ha she inds in he Connema a house and in he son's house in
Sa dinia, bu mo e a ely while she is a elling. One o he poe y collec ions, im am:
odyssey (2010), was inspi ed du ing a w i ing esidency in Slo enia —a ip unded by
he Li e a u e Ac oss F on ie s p og amme. O he a els ecei ed unding om The A s
Council, Cul u e I eland, The I ish Book Publishe s’ Associa ion, he Cen e Cul u el
I landais in Pa is and a numbe o hos uni e si ies —San iago de Compos ela, O iedo,
To on o. I is mainly o he sc eenplays ha de F éine collabo a es wi h o eign a is s,
such as he Indian ilm-di ec o Biju Viswana h. In he case o Lia Mills, a ound o y
pe cen o he a els a e ela ed o he w i ing: eadings, alks, esea ch… T a els o e
he “inspi a ion, exposu e o esh ideas and imp essions; ge ing ou o s ale ou ines,
eedom om esponsibili ies, exposu e o new w i e s and a is s, in e ac ion wi h new
audiences”. Mills esponds quickly o new se ings by aking no es and ga he ing
imp essions, bu hese “ ake a while o sink and pe cola e down o some hing ha migh
e-eme ge as li e a y w i ing”. One o he no els, No hing Simple (2005), is se in he US,
and she has chosen o eign loca ions o some o he sho s o ies as well. Mills’s li e a y
a els ha e ecei ed unding om hos uni e si ies —O iedo, To on o—, Cul u e
I eland, and he Cen e Cul u el I landais in Pa is.
Ma y O’Donnell wa ns us o he kind o ou is w i ing p oduced a e ips
ab oad: “I am na u ally suspicious o he poe ics and p ose o he seasoned con e ence /
semina pa icipa ing poe / w i e . By his I mean ha pa o me esis s he u ge o w i e
abou a el-inspi ed hings unless absolu ely necessa y”. Howe e , she admi s ha
ce ain disco e ies and con ac s wi h o he w i e s and schola s ha e, mo e han once,
inc eased he c ea i e pleasu e. T a elling is, o O’Donnell, no e- aking ime and she
acknowledges ha : “my expe iences ab oad ha e indeed bi en in o my c ea i e w i ing”.
He poe y collec ion Spide woman’s Thi d A enue Rhapsody (1993), o ins ance, was
la gely inspi ed by a isi o New Yo k. He a els ha e ecei ed unding om he I ish
A s Council, he I ish W i e s’ Union, and he Finnish W i e s’ Union, apa om a ious
hos uni e si ies —among hem, se e al Spanish ones: Alme ía, G anada, San iago de
Compos ela and Alcalá de Hena es. Among he collabo a i e p ojec s wi h o he
Eu opean w i e s, one mus poin ou he co-edi ion o he an hology o Galician poe y
ansla ion To he Winds Ou Sails (O’Donnell & Palacios 2010).
Ri a Kelly inds ha a elling has been ex emely bene icial o he c ea i e
w i ing —which is also a es ed by i les o he books such as T a elling Wes (2000).
Kelly’s ips ha e been unded by he I ish and Sco ish A s Councils, and by a ious
Depa men s o he I ish go e nmen —Fo eign A ai s, T ade, Educa ion, and Gael ach
A ai s. He main collabo a ions ab oad consis in ansla ion p ojec s, inclusion in
an hologies, publica ion oppo uni ies, al hough, like mos w i e s in I eland and Galicia
she eg e s ha : “I ha e o en wished o g ea e collabo a ions bu , in my case, hey ha e
ne e seemed o ma e ialize”. Abou wen y pe cen o Ma y Hos y’s a els a e ela ed
o he p o ession as a w i e and she used o ha e a a elogue sec ion on he pe sonal
web page. T a el o e s he “escape, s imula ion, di e ence, inspi a ion, sensa ion and
expe ience”. While ab oad, she likes o ake no es and make obse a ions, bu she objec s
ha “pu ing mysel unde p essu e o w i e doesn’ help; much like cons an ly aking

pho os, i can o en become a ba ie o ac ually expe iencing he place”. Hos y o en uses
places she has isi ed as se ings and backd ops o he wo k, bu he s ays ab oad ha e
no esul ed in collabo a ions wi h o he o eign w i e s o ins i u ions. Lo na
Shaughnessy inds ha a elling “s imula es he senses and he mind. B eak om he
ou ine o home and wo k also ees he mind. T a elling alone is pa icula ly bene icial:
lo s o dayd eaming ime on ains, planes and buses!” Spain and Mexico ha e ea u ed
in he w i ing, as can be seen in he collec ion To ching he B own Ri e (2008) and she
has pa icipa ed in ansla ion p ojec s wi h Galician (2010a, 2010b, Shaughnessy &
Kelly 2010) and Mexican poe s (2006a & 2006b).
Ma ía do Ca me K uckenbe g used o say ha she e u ned o he coun ies she had
once isi ed e e y ime she ead he w i ings hey inspi ed. He collec ion Vi i , a en u a
i epe ible (1998) includes a subs an ial numbe o poems abou he a els wi h he
pa en s. In he biog aphy wi h a simila i le, Vi i , unha a en u a i epe íbel, Me cedes
Queixas Zas (2011) discusses K uckenbe g’s a els and expe iences ab oad in mo e
de ail. He main collabo a ions wi h o eign w i e s ook place in A gen ina, U uguay,
B azil and he US. In he case o Luz Pichel, howe e , he a elling has had limi ed
connec ion wi h and in luence on he w i ing, she main ains. Ma ila Aleixand e o en
pa icipa es in in e na ional book ai s, eadings, li e a y es i als and book launches,
whe e he in ense con ac wi h o he w i e s and li e a y p ojec s usually igge s new
e lec ions on he a o w i ing —al hough she is also a bi anxious ha such equen
a elling may ob he o he ime and concen a ion she needs o w i ing. Some o he
a el expe iences ha e been pou ed in o he ic ion: a good pa o he no el O esca e
do penei ei o (1990) is se in I eland, whe e he w i e once s ayed as an au-pai ; he no el
A expedición do Pací ico (1994) con ains passages abou he Amazonia which we e
inspi ed by Aleixand e’s a els o he Tikal o es in Gua emala and he ekking
ac i i ies in Thailand; he Po uguese dic a o ship —1926-1974— is he se ing o he
no el A compañía clandes ina de con apublicidade (1998) whe e Aleixand e’s
clandes ine p opaganda ac i i ies and hose o he acquain ances a e ap ly ic ionalized;
he sho s o y “No lombo do ío ele an e” (2007a) ells us abou a lood in Myanma —
no unlike he loods Aleixand e wi nessed du ing he ip o Sou heas Asia in 2006—
and all he cha ac e s’ names a e ac ually names o poli ical p isone s; Aleixand e’s
poe y has also d awn inspi a ion om he a els, as is he case o he poem “As
debandado as de seda” (2007b), which wea es he imp essions on isi ing a silk
wo kshop along wi h he opic o child p os i u ion in Sou heas Asia; also, Aleixand e’s
poem “1” (2006) is se in he I alian egion o Romagna, whe e she has isi ed he iend
De no Scaioli. O he w i ings by Aleixand e also con ain e e ences o he a els o
B azil and o Nash ille, Tennessee.
Chus Pa o’s a els a e o en ela ed o he li e a y ac i i ies and, o his eason,
his ype o ip is usually sho and e y busy: “ eadings, poe s, c i ics, jou nalis s, ho els,
meals, bi s o ci ies”. These li e a y a els ha e been unded by he Galician go e nmen ,
he Ins i u o Ce an es and he CCEBA —Spanish Cul u al Cen e in Buenos Ai es. Wi h
his hec ic hy hm, she can ha dly w i e while she is away. Howe e , he e ha e been wo
long p i a e a els along he Danube whe e “e e y hing changed” and she had he
concen a ion o w i e, “because li e and a el wen hand in hand”. He a el o he
egion o Colchis —mode n Black Sea coas o Geo gia— ea u es in he poe y
collec ion m-Talá (2000, 2009a), while some o he pe cep ions o he Ca pa hians and
Tangie s appea in Secesión (2009b). Since Pa o was a seconda y school eache , she
could no de o e, o he w i ing and a els, all he ime hey equi ed and lamen s no
ha ing enjoyed he oppo uni y o being a p o essional w i e . He collabo a ions wi h
o eign w i e s ha e ma e ialized in nume ous join publica ions and ansla ions which
ha e allowed he o keep in con ac wi h w i e s’ p ojec s elsewhe e “because poe y,
hough a lee ing a , a els leisu ely”.
Mos o Te esa Mou e’s a els ela e o he li e a y ac i i ies, al hough she ies
o ese e some ime du ing hese ips o isi s on he own o wi h he amily. She inds
ha a elling is bo h an in ense and exci ing expe ience and one ha e eals you
ulne abili y and unce ain y abou o he people’s codes. Howe e , Mou e has no
ansla ed he a els o he ic ion and has ne e a elled looking o se ings as, o his,
she p e e s o do esea ch. Fo hose li e a y mee ings in which Mou e ep esen ed
Galician li e a u e, she ecei ed unding om he Galician go e nmen and some o he
p omo ion ou s ha e been unded by publishe s such as Ba celona-based Lumen and he
I alian U ogallo. She has no been in ol ed in collabo a i e p ojec s wi h o eign w i e s
bu is in e es ed in w i ing esidencies ab oad.
Though Lupe Gómez A o says she has a elled li le, she some imes eels she
needs “ o lea e Galicia, because he e, in his wee coun y, I’m d owned by so much
da kness and so much g een wa e . I need o s e ch mysel , o s e ch my body and o
s e ch my poems”. She belie es ha a elling is highly bene icial o w i ing: “my mind
g ows and so do my wo ds” and she would e en like o w i e a book o a els. Howe e ,
Gómez A o unde s ands he no ion o a el e y b oadly, as she also a els when she
d eams, when she akes he bus o he amily isi s and when she w i es o ecei es
le e s. She likes o w i e abou he p omenades o he i e in Fis eus, he home illage:
“Tha place is o c ucial impo ance o me. All my poe y, all my dances o igina e he e.
Tha i e means a he and mo he ”. She ne e wen on holidays as a li le gi l and only
began o spend some summe s on he beach o Lou o a e she was wen y. She would
hen go on p omenades wi h he mo he and hey would eel “s ange s, close o each
o he and happy. The sea speaks a o eign language o hose o us who ha e g own up
inland”. Gómez A o le he home illage o a end seconda y school in A Co uña. This
la ge ci y was also o eign e i o y o he , pa ly because he dominan and p es igious
language was Cas ilian Spanish and no he Galician e nacula ha she spoke wi h he
pa en s, and also because: “my li e in Fis eus was no a all e lec ed o ga he ed in he
books I had o s udy”. Fo his eason, she published a p ose memoi abou he childhood
in Fis eus (2001). Gómez A o has assiduously w i en o o he au ho s wi h whom she
has sha ed “music, books and poems”: John Be ge , José Luís Peixo o, An onio
Gamoneda… She does no eel isola ed “because he e is a Pos O ice in my
neighbou hood whe e I go almos e e y a e noon o send my le e s o all co ne s o he
wo ld”.
Ma ía do Ceb ei o likes o ake no es du ing he a els and, once she is back a
home, o polish he ex s. The expe iences li ed away om Galicia ha e nou ished many
o he poe y collec ions: A isi o Lisbon in 1998 inspi ed o es adio do espello (1998);
Os hemis e ios (2006) was w i en du ing a s ay in Ba celona; Cua o de ou ono (2008a)
and Non son de aquí (2008b, 2010) ha e esul ed om he a els o Lisbon and he la e
also inco po a es a ew poems ske ched in Wales. He li e a y a els o Wales ha e been
unded by he AELG —Associa ion o Galician-language W i e s— and by he Cen e
o Galician S udies in Wales a Bango Uni e si y. These s ays in Wales ha e a ou ed
collabo a ions such as sha ed poe y eadings and ound ables wi h he w i e s Zoë
Scoulding and Menna El yn.
Mos o Yolanda Cas año’s a els a e ela ed o he li e a y ac i i ies and ha e
been unded by he Galician go e nmen , he Spanish Minis y o Cul u e and he Ins i u o
Ce an es, among o he associa ions and ins i u ions. She inds a elling ex emely
bene icial o he w i ing because “one o he mos in e es ing pe spec i es is ha om
he ou side. I ne e knew so much abou my coun y as when I le i , so much abou my
eali y as when I anscended i , so much abou my in ima e sel as when I le my amily
home”. T a elling has o Cas año a libe a ing e ec ha makes he w i ing less
ci cumsc ibed by pa ochial, na ow o mise ly p edicamen s. Disconnec ing om he
domes ic and p o essional ies becomes s imula ing and c ea es
a o eign space, a abula asa eady o c ea i i y. The an icipa ed
ad en u e o a el ouses he desi e o ace new pa hs o wo ds and o
en u e in o he in icacies o poe y. E en hose dead hou s o jou neys
in he middle o nowhe e p o ide a pa en hesis ha can be inspi ing o
my c ea i e wo k.
He imp essions o Venice ha e accompanied An ón Sob al’s pain ings o he Ci y o
Canals (Sob al & Cas año 2000); he eadings o Ma gue i e Du as a e in e wined wi h
eal encoun e s wi h people om he Fa Eas in he poem “Yolanda en a en escena…”
(2003); a isi o Pa is a a ime o pe sonal c isis haun s he poem se ies “(RE)SER(VADO)”
(2007); he ci y o Buenos Ai es is ende ed in a book o poe y and pho og aphs by
Galician and A gen ine a is s whe e Cas año is a con ibu o (Longuei a 2009); i is
p obably he long poem “Mazás do xa dín de Tols oi” (Bece a de Bece a 2008) ha
mos clea ly egis e s he a els, bu Cas año also has a wide a ie y o poems, some
published in li e a y jou nals and o he s s ill unpublished, on places such as New Yo k,
Nica agua, Bosnia, e c. He collabo a ions wi h o eign w i e s ha e included p ojec s
such as he p omo ion o La in-Ame ican w i e s in he in e na ional li e a y blog
“absolu epoe y”, he edi ion o he comple e wo ks o Fa uco Ses o, a Galician w i e
exiled in Venezuela, he coo dina ion o he in e na ional poe y es i al “Poe as
Di(n) e sos”, he in e na ional poe y ansla ion wo kshop in San Simón, and he unning
o he 1863 li e a y esidency in A Co uña.
E a Mo eda’s jou neys a e o en ela ed o he academic ac i i ies, and she ies
o accommoda e he pa icipa ion in li e a y e en s o hose da es in which she can and
wan s o a el. She is con inced ha he long sojou ns ab oad, especially he s ay in
London, ha e been decisi e o he c ea i e w i ing. Mo eda a ely w i es while she is
a elling, as he concen a ion equi es egula imes and habi s, and she has ne e
jou neyed in sea ch o li e a y inspi a ion, hough she admi s ha expe iences li ed in
pas a els may unexpec edly make hei way in o new w i ings. He no el A Veiga é
como un empo dis in o (2011a) ells he s o y o a young woman who, in he la e 1960s
lea es o London, whe e she la e joins he eminis mo emen . Mo eda sha es some
ea u es wi h he p o agonis , bu he e a e also subs an ial di e ences be ween he wo:
“she li es in ano he epoch, comes om a di e en social class and has ecei ed a
di e en educa ion. My i s con ac wi h eminism was o an academic na u e while my
p o agonis s a s a a g ass oo s le el”.
Concluding Rema ks
I ish and Galician women w i e s li e and wo k in p o oundly nomadic socie ies o he
ex en ha mig a ion is o en seen as a na u al p ocess, a he han an economic, poli ical
o social phenomenon. Depending on he w i e ’s age, some dig deep in memo ies o hei
g andpa en s’ ime while o he s e e o hei con empo a ies. Among he Galician w i e s
consul ed, he e a e abundan e e ences o emig a ion in he i s hal o he wen ie h
cen u y, while I ish w i e s o en b ing hei memo ies close o p esen imes. One can
easily ecognize he Galician emig a ion wa es o La in Ame ica be o e he 1950s and,
om he 1950s un il he 1970s, o o he Eu opean coun ies. The I ish economic c isis o
he 1980s ex ended he diaspo ic low —p edominan ly o he USA and he UK— un il
he ea ly 1990s. Women w i e s’ memo ies o emig a ion o en ocus on women’s li es
and ole in mig a o y lows. O special in e es is hei e lec ion on he libe a ing
po en ial o he expe ience o a elling and he deg ee o au onomy and sel -es eem ha
women can achie e h ough i .
Galician w i e s o en e e o hei ela i es’ poli ical exile a e he Spanish Ci il
Wa (1936-1939) and he subsequen dic a o ial egime o Gene al F anco (1939-1975),
while none o he I ish w i e s consul ed explici ly men ion poli ical exile, bu economic
cons ain s as he main eason o hei ela i es’ depa u e. Galician w i e s who had
poli ical exiles in hei amilies o en ecall he social aboo a ound hei depa ed
ela i es. Conce ning I ish w i e s, hose whose amilies we e di ided by he No h-Sou h
bo de usually e e o he aliena ion om hei ela i es and he e is a aboo abou hose
I ish emig an s who joined he B i ish mili a y o ces. In hese cases, emig an s we e
submi ed o a double p ocess o es angemen on accoun on hei depa u e and he
silence wi h which i was sealed. Al hough he poli ical exiles men ioned a e
p edominan ly male, hese accoun s bea wi ness o he pain ul ways in which women
had o nego ia e he aboo a ound his kind o emig a ion wi h poli ical o e ones.
Bo h I ish and Galician w i e s a ow ha hei unde s anding o hei ela i es’
o deal is ague and, some imes, e en mys i ied, bu emig a ion has, in a ew cases, gi en
hese w i e s he ma e ial means o w i e and, o many o hem, has become a mo i a ing
o ce behind hei w i ing. Thei amilies’ pain ul emig a ion has no de e ed he w i e s
he e consul ed om a elling; on he con a y, many o hem ha e isi ed hei ela i es’
des ina ion coun ies, which ha e become pa o hei p i a e, emo ional his o y. The
majo i y —and in his espec I ish and Galician w i e s mainly esemble one ano he —
gi e ee exp ession o hei wande lus and see o eign coun ies and cul u es as
eposi o ies o al e na i e li es and iden i ies. Thei ascina ion o ce ain wo ld egions
has o en been kindled by hei li e a y eadings. In many cases, he beginning o hei
w i ing ca ee is ela ed o he expe ience o displacemen and hei a els ei he ha e
inspi ed o appea men ioned in hei w i ing o di e en deg ees. The ins i u ions which
ha e unded hei li e a y ac i i ies ab oad a e mos ly public ones ela ed o hei
espec i e go e nmen s, depa men s o cul u e and w i e s’ unions. Mos au ho s exp ess
he wish o engage in mo e collabo a i e p ojec s wi h o eign a is s; howe e , Galician
w i e s some imes a i m ha hey ha e li le in o ma ion abou g an s and w i ing
esidencies p og ammes ab oad.

Mixing Memo y and Desi e APPENDIX I
WRITERS’ PROFILES
Aleixand e, Ma ila (1947): A poe , ic ion w i e , uni e si y p o esso and membe o
he Royal Galician Academy, she is he au ho o nume ous poe y collec ions, among
which: Ca álogo de elenos (1999), Desmen indo a p ima e a (2003), Mudanzas (2007)
Desesc ibindo (2016). He ic ion o adul s includes: T ánsi o dos G amá icos (1993),
Lobos nas illas (1996), A Compañía Clandes ina de Con apublicidade (1998), Teo ía
do caos (2001), As malas mulle es (2020, awa ded he Na ional Fic ion P ize).
Cas año, Yolanda (1977): As a poe , he collec ions include: Ele a as pálpeb as (1995),
Delicia (1998), Edénica (2000), Vi imos no ciclo das E o anías (1998), O lib o da
egoís a (2003), P o undidade de campo (2007), E o anía (2008), A segunda língua
(2014) and Ma e ia (2022). She is he Di ec o o he w i e s’ esidency “1863”, o he
in e na ional poe y es i al “Poe as Di(n) e sos”, and o he in e na ional wo kshop o
ansla ion o poe y “Illa de San Simón”.
De F éine, Celia (1948): A poe , playw igh , lib e is and sc eenw i e in I ish and
English, she is he au ho o nume ous poe y collec ions which include: Blood Deb s
(2014), cui amach seo dom: iddle me his (2014), Aibí i Aoise: Alphabe o an Age
(2011), im am: odyssey (2010), Sca ec ows a New owna ds (2005), Fiacha Fola (2004),
Faoi Chabáis í is Ríonacha (2001). He plays include: Cúi an Mheán Oíche: The
Midnigh Cou (2012), Desi e: Meanma c (2012), Pligh : C uachás (2012), An ai h
Nean óige, Cói ín na dTonn, Tea mnn ( he h ee ga he ed in Mná Dána, 2009), Ná a
Tu as é in Ais ea (2000), and Casadh (2009). She is also he au ho o se e al ilm-
poems in collabo a ion wi h he di ec o Biju Viswana h.
Gómez (A o), Lupe (1972): A poe , he poe y collec ions include, among o he s:
Po nog a ía (1995), Os eus dedos na miña b aga con eg a (1999), Poesía ea (2000),
Que ida Uxía (2004), Le an a as e as (2004), Luz e Lupe (2005), Azul e es anxei a
(2005), O ú e o dos cabalos (2005), Que o baila (2006), Dia io dun ba (2008),
Camu laxe (2017), Fos o escencias (2019), Sílabas da pes e (2021), Salón de é (2023).
She is he au ho o he poe ic p ose memoi : Fis eus e a un mundo (2001). Bu gha d
Bal usch edi ed he collec ion o c i ical essays on Gómez’s wo k and ansla ions: Lupe
Gómez; lib e e es anxei a (2013).
Hos y, Ma y: A bes selling no elis , he books include: A Pe ec Momen (2005),
Lea ning o Fly (2004), The Men in he Li e (2003).
Kelly, Ri a (1953): A poe , playw igh and ic ion w i e in I ish and English, she is he
au ho o he ollowing poe y collec ions: Fu he Though s in a Ga den (2013), Tu as
go Bun na Spéi e (2009), T a elling Wes (2000), Fa e Well / Bei Beannach (1990), An
Bealach Eadóigh (1984), and along wi h he la e husband, he poe Eoghan Ó Tuai isc,
she w o e Dialann sa Dísea (1981). She is also he au ho o The Whispe ing A ch and
O he S o ies (1986) and Kelly Reads Bewick (2001) and he play F au Lu he (1984).
K uckenbe g, Ma ía do Ca me (1926-2015): A poe , he collec ions include: Ob a
poé ica case comple a. 1953-2000 (2000; his ga he s he poe y she published un il
2000), Lemb anzas da beleza is e (2003), Luz pa a un no o amence (2004), As
complexas ma eas da noi e (2006), Os lími es do a eguizo (2008), A oz da auga (2010),
Jazz espido un e dous (2011). He sho s o ies ha e been ga he ed by Me cedes Queixas
in O mo o asasinado e ou os con os (2018).
Ma ía do Ceb ei o (1976): A poe and p o esso o li e a u e, she is he au ho , among
o he s, o he ollowing poe y collec ions: o es adio do espello (1998), (nós, as
inadap adas) (2001), Non que es que o poema e coñeza (2004), O ba io das chinesas
(2005), Os hemis e ios (2006), Cua o de ou ono (2008), Non son de aquí (2008), Os
inocen es (2014), O dese o (2015), A len i ude (2017), Soños. A qui os. Ca as (2028).
As an essayis , she has published he books: As an ologías de poesía en Galicia and
Ca aluña (2004), As e cei as mulle es (2005) and Foga imp onunciable. Poesía e
pan asma (2011).
Mills, Lia: A w i e o no els, sho s o ies and li e a y non- ic ion, he book i les
include: Ano he Alice (1996), No hing Simple (2005) In You Face (2007), and Fallen
(2014).
Mo eda, E a (1981): A poe , ic ion w i e and musicologis , he no els include:
B eogán de Guisamonde, o cabalei o da gai o a (1997), O demo e o p o undo ma azul
(2002), Singula is Domi illa (2004), O país das bes as (2009), O ganoloxía (2010), A
Veiga é como un empo dis in o (2011), Pa a oda a ida (2020), Rapazas de pola
(2021).
Mou e, Te esa (1969): A ic ion w i e , playw igh , linguis and essayis , he no els
include: A xei a das a bo es (2004), He ba mou a (2005), Benque ida ca as ophe
(2007), A Casa dos Luca ios (2007), A in e ención (2010), Uma mãe ão punk (2018),
Os ácia (2015). Essays published in book o m a e, among o he s: Ou o idioma é
posible (2005), A palab a das illas de E a (2005), O na u al é polí ico (2008). He play
Unha p ima e a pa a Alda a (2008) has been s aged o wide public acclaim.
O’Donnell, Ma y (1954): A poe , ic ion w i e and essayis , she is he au ho o
nume ous poe y collec ions, among which: Reading he Sun lowe s in Sep embe (1990),
Spide woman’s Thi d A enue Rhapsody (1993), Unlegenda y He oes (1998), Sep embe
Elegies (2003), The Place o Mi acles: New and Selec ed Poems (2006), The A k Builde s
(2009), Those Ap il Fe e s (2015), Massac e o he Bi ds (2020). She has co-edi ed he
an hology o Galician e se To he Winds Ou Sails: I ish W i e s T ansla e Galician
Poe y (2010). He ic ion includes olumes o sho s o ies such as: Empi e (2018),
S ong Pagans (1991) and S o m o e Bel as (2008) and he no els: The Ligh -Make s
(1992), Vi gin and he Boy (1996), The Elysium Tes amen (1999), Whe e They Lie
(2014).
Pa o, Chus (1955): A poe , she is he au ho o he ollowing collec ions: U ania (1991),
Heloísa (1994), Fascinio (1995), A pon e das pold as (1996), Níni e (1996), m-Talá
(2000), Cha en on (2004), Ho das de esc i u a (2008), Secesión (2009), Ca ne de
Le ia án (2013), Un lib e a o (2019). Much o he w i ing has been ansla ed in o
English by he Canadian poe and ansla o E in Mou e.
Pichel, Luz (1947): A poe , she has published wo k in Galician and Spanish: El pája o
mudo (1990), La ma ca de los po os (2004), El pája o mudo y o os poemas (2004),
Casa pechada (2006), Ca i a en su lugha (2013), T a(n)shumancias (2013), CO CO CO
U (2017), Din din don y más Ho ensias azuis (2021), Alén Alén (2021).
Shaughnessy, Lo na (1961): A poe and li e a y ansla o , she has published he poe y
collec ions To ching he B own Ri e (2008), Wi ness T ees (2011), Ancho ed (2015),
La k Wa e (2021). He ansla ions include wo books o Mexican poe y: Mo he
Tongue. Selec ed Poems by Pu a López Colomé and I We Ha e Los Ou Oldes Tales
by Ma ía Ba anda, and wo books by he Galician poe Manuel Ri as: The Disappea ance
o Snow (2012) and The Mou h o he Ea h (2019). Shaughnessy is he co-edi o , oge he
wi h Kei h Payne and Ma ín Veiga o A Di e en Eden: Ecopoe y om I eland and
Galicia (2021).
Mixing Memo y and Desi e. APPENDIX II
QUESTIONNAIRE
Emig a ion and exile:
1. Ha e any membe s o you amily (close o dis an ) emig a ed o o eign coun ies?
1.a. I so, was hei emig a ion o ced by hos ile ci cums ances in I eland / Galicia
o was i olun a y?
1.b. Would you say hei emig a ion allowed hem o ha e a mo e success ul li e?
1.c. Has hei expe ience ma ked you in any pa icula way? (e.g. you
ela ionship wi h he o eign coun y hey wen o, e c.)
Wande lus :
2. How many imes a yea (on a e age) do you lea e you coun y?
3. When you a el ab oad, which a e he coun ies you isi mos o en?
4. Which o he coun ies ha e you isi ed?
5. Is he e a o eign coun y o a con inen ( egion, e c.) ha ascina es you (whe he
you ha e isi ed i o no )?
6. Ha e you e e li ed ab oad o a pe iod longe han 3 mon hs? I so, whe e and o
how long?
6.a. I you answe ed Yes o ques ion 6, was you s ay ab oad connec ed wi h you
p o ession as a w i e o was he eason a di e en one?
T a elling ab oad as a w i e :
7. Wha pe cen age o you annual a els ab oad is di ec ly connec ed wi h you
p o ession as a w i e ?
8. In wha ways do you ind a elling ab oad bene icial o you c ea i e w i ing?
9. When you a el ab oad, do you p ima ily d aw inspi a ion om wha you see a ound
you and wai ill you a e back home in o de o w i e abou i ?
10. To wha ex en ha e you expe iences ab oad inspi ed he subjec -ma e o you
w i ing?
11. Is you w i ing ou pu mo e in ensi e while you a e ab oad?
Ins i u ional suppo :
12. Ha e any p i a e o public ins i u ions unded you a els ab oad as a w i e ? I so,
which ins i u ions? On which p og ammes? To which o eign coun ies?
13. Is he e a pa icula g an o p og amme o w i e s’ s ays ab oad ha you would
like o ge one day?
14. Ha e you a els and s ays ab oad esul ed in collabo a ions wi h o he w i e s? I
so, wha kinds o collabo a ions?
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Index
Abbey Thea e
Abo iginal peoples
Accen
Ac o Union
Aes he icize
A ica
Ahmed, Sa a
Albania
Aleixand e, Ma ila
A compañía clandes ina de con apublicidade
A expedición do Pací ico
“b inca na go xa”
O esca e do penei ei o
Aliena ion
Al e i y
Amazonia
Ame ica
Ana olia
Anei os, Rosa
“Lola”
Animaliza ion
Animal S udies
An a c ica
An h opocen ism
An igone
An ónio Sou o, Inma
Appadu ai, A jun
Appiah, Kwame An hony
App op ia ion
A ab wo ld
A c ic
A eanca, Pila
Bendi os illos
A gen ina
A len House
Ashbe y, John
Asia
Asma
As u ias
A hens
A lan ic
Aus alia
Aus ia
A Veiga
Bakh in
Bangladesh
Bannis e , I y
Ba ba ians
Bá cena, Do o ea
Ba dwell, Leland
Ba , Fiona
“The Wall Reade ”
Bashō, Ma suo
Basque Coun y
Basque li e a u e
Bea les (The)
Becoming
Bel as
Belonging
Benjamin, Wal e
Be ge , John
Be keley, Sa ah
Bilbao
Bilingualism
Bina y opposi ions
Black I ish
Black Sea
Body
Boland, Ea an
Bo de
Bo ges, Jo ge Luis
Bosnia
Bos on
Bou dieu, Pie e
Bowen, Elizabe h
B aido i, Rosi
Nomadic Subjec s
B azil
B ehon laws
B i ish colonialism
B i ish Penal Laws
Buenos Ai es
Caamaño, Begoña
Cali o nia
Cambodia
Canada
Ca ibbean
Ca , Ma ina
A iel
By he Bog o Ca s
Cas año, Yolanda
Ca alan li e a u e
Ca holicism
Cel icism
Cel ic Tige
Cen e Cul u el I landais (Pa is)
Cha abanc Thea e Company
Child en’s and ju enile li e a u e
China
Choice
Cid, Alba
A las
Cíes Islands
Cinema
Ci izenship
Ci il Righ s Mo emen (No he n I eland)
Cixous, Hélène
Cla ke, Aus in
“The Blackbi d o De ycai n”
Co in ship
Collado López, I ia
“Meghalaya”
Colonialism / neo- / pos -colonialism
Commodi ica ion
Compa a i e li e a u a
Concen a ion camp
Conno , Cole e
Cosmopoli anism
C eus, Es e o
C onin, Michael
C oss- e iliza ion
Cuba
Cúi Fes i al
Cuña Bó eda, Ánxeles
Dachau
Danube
Debo d, Guy
De Cas o, Rosalía
Follas no as
Dee y, Te esa
De amilia iza ion
De F éine, Celia
Deleuze, Gilles
Denma k
De lin, Anne
“Fi e No es a e a Visi ”
Ou sel es Alone
Diaspo a
Di ec P o ision
Dispossession
Di e si y
Domes ici y
Domínguez, C is ina
Donoghue, Emma
Dublin Shakespea e Socie y
Du as, Ma gue i e
Eas e Rising
Ecoc i icism
Eco eminism
Ecology
Egyp
Elec a
England / B i ain / U.K.
English language
Englishness
Equali y
E hnici y
Eu ipides
Iphigenia among he Tau ians
Iphigenia in Aulis
Medea
Eu ocen ism
Eu ope
Exclusion
Exile
Exo icism