I have read all of the English language novels of Eilis NI Dhuibhne, two of her collections of short stories and a number of her short stories. I was very happy to see Kevin Barry included one of her short stories in his anthology, Town and Country - New Irish Short Stories.
It took me a little while to figure who the first person female narrator of "Summer's Wreath" was. I won't tell you but once I slowly caught on, I was enthralled by the way this wonderful story brought a few very important months in literary history to life. It as if we are there near the formative moments in the literary life of one of the greatest short story writers of all time. Dhuibhne lets us see how an act that some pedagogical professionals see as plagiarism took place. We see how the modern short story was shaped by the then barely known writers. I really loved this story.
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne (1954, Dublin) is the author of eight novels, four in English and four in Irish. She has a PdD from The National University of Ireland, focusing on the work of Chaucer as part of an oral tradition. She has taught at the University College Dublin and was for many years a curator at The National library in Dublin. She also teaches creative writing. Her novel, The Dancers Dancing, was short listed for the 2000 Orange Prize. She is very dedicated to preserving and promoting the Irish literary tradition.
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