Dublin: A Writer's City

by Christopher Morash

The words of its writers are part of the texture of Dublin, an invisible counterpart to the bricks and pavement we see around us. Beyond the ever-present footsteps of James Joyce's characters, Leopold Bloom or Stephen Dedalus, around the city centre, an ordinary-looking residential street overlooking Dublin Bay, for instance, presents the house where Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney lived for many years; a few blocks away is the house where another Nobel Laureate, W. B. Yeats, was born.  Just down the coast is the pier linked to yet another, Samuel Beckett, from which we can see the Martello Tower that is the setting for the opening chapter of Ulysses. But these are only a few. Step-by-step, A Writer's City unfolds a book-lover's map of this unique city, inviting us to experience what it means to live in a great city of literature.  The book is heavily illustrated, and features custom maps.

Genres: Ireland, Irish Literature

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2023

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, Dublin, by Christopher Morash, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Dublin is known for its famous writers poets and authors, James Joyce and William Butler Yeats, instantly come to mind. I learned a lot from this book, so many creative Irish people going back a long time.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no doubt that Dublin has been home to many writers and their creations. Even those who have not read Ulysses know that the characters of James Joyce dwell here. Among the many others to have worked or set works in Dublin were Seamus Heaney, Yeats, and Beckett, up to the more recent, Sally Rooney.

This title is a bibliophile’s delight. The reader’s guide, author Chris Morash, has written extensively on Ireland and is on the judging panel of the Dublin Literary Award. He notes that, when he moved to Dublin, he lived on the street where Oscar Wilde had been born, and where part of Ulysses takes place. Clearly he is one to enjoy the city’s rich literary history. Readers are in good hands.

This title is organized by geographic locations. For example there are chapters set around St. Stephen’s Green, Trinity College, Riverrun and many others. There are many maps and photos that bring the text to life.

The book opens with an extensive chronology that begins in 770 and ends in 2021. There are both historical and literary events noted here. I learned, for example, that in 1551 the first book was published in Dublin. Do you know what it was? See below for the answer.

Morash has included a section called Read On for those who want to dig a bit deeper.

This book offers much to engage both the scholar and the more casual reader. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Cambridge University Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 09 March 2023

Note: This is a title in a series that features writers and cities. Other books are on New Orleans, London, Cambridge and New York. Look for them.

The first title published was the Book of Common Prayer.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dublin, by Christopher Morash, is a delightful and personal journey through Dublin's rich literary history, neighborhood by neighborhood.

I was reading this at the same time as I was reading another book in the Writer's City series, the one on New Orleans, and they both worked their magic on me. I am very familiar with New Orleans but have only been to Dublin once and even then not for long enough to explore. In the end, my lack of familiarity with the city in question was secondary to my enjoyment, though it made the enjoyment of each different in nature.

My undergrad honors thesis in English was about expats and their writing about their homelands. So Joyce played a large part in that research, which gave me a decent appreciation of Dublin, albeit from one perspective. Coupled with the many other writers from there, or who were heavily influenced by the city, my interest in Dublin has always been piqued (admittedly aided by my love of Guinness). This short but information-packed volume showed me just how much I was interested.

All of the names you would expect to find are here, along with many you might not know. The places and the anecdotes make you feel like you're walking the streets yourself, sometimes as a modern-day tourist, sometimes as a contemporary of the writers being covered. In other words, while this will make a great guide for a visit, it is also a very good read in its own right.

I don't know if I will make it back to Dublin but this book allows me to become an armchair traveler, both geographically and historically. If you're like me and supplement your reading with various searches online, this becomes an even more immersive trip through time and space.

Those with a love of Dublin and/or Irish literature will find a lot here to enjoy and engage with. If you are planning a trip I think you'll find a few extra stops you might want to make.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Chet Makoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much in this book I wish I had read before we moved to Ireland. I also wonder what it would have been like for us if we stayed there. And now, I’ll never read all the authors and books I’d like, but I’ll appreciate those I’ve read, many of which are described in this book. For some reason, the Irish writers I’ve come to love most are John Banville (a.k.a. Benjamin Black), William Trevor, Flann O’Brien (a.k.a. Brien O’Nolan, Myles na Gopaleen), Somerville and Ross, James Joyce, writers of Blasket Island stories, Roddy Doyle, Alice Taylor, Maurice Walsh, Com Tobin, Tana French, Claire Keegan, George Townsend, Benedict Kiely, Fontana O’Toole, and other classic and great Irish writers I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read, but who should be on this list.

[AnnieM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be a great travel companion when I travel to Dublin. This book is a part of a series that showcases other cities and their literary history. This book starts with a chronology which is very helpful. There are maps throughout and highlights where the author himself lived and famous and not as well known authors lived and hung out or taught. I love that he describes passages from Irish Literature as well as giving us background on these authors and the locations. This is a great read with suggestions for more reading!

Thank you to Netgalley and Cambridge University Press for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really natural on this one. I wanted to like and applaud the idea of a literary overview of Dublin and its geography. However, I just couldn't warm to this one. It's not a particularly well presented book with a small typeface and no illustrations other than maps. It felt like the publisher wasn't sure whether this was a broadly academic work, a guidebook or some odd hybrid of both.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for all lovers of travel and literature, and for those who, like me, always want to find out about the writers who come from a particular place. A must-read for all fans of literary history. An engaging and informative guide.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re about to visit Dublin, this is a five star.