Imagination of an Insurrection: Dublin, Easter 1916

by William Irwin Thompson

Literary study of the Easter Rising.

Genres: Irish Literature, History, Nonfiction, Ireland

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

William Irwin Thompson is an American social philosopher, cultural critic, and poet. He received the Oslo International Poetry Festival Award in 1986. He describes his writing and speaking style as "mind-jazz on ancient texts". He is the founder of the Lindisfarne Association.

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dublin uprising, and the Irish literary renaissance, with an emphasis on A.E.,(George William Russell), W.B. Yeats, and Sean O'Casey, and their cultural and historical contributions is examined here. Alas, if either the Volunteers or the Citizen's Army had only thought to secure the ports, the Brits would never had been able to bring their heavy armory over to quash the uprising. A nice piece of scholarship and a riveting story to boot. Theosophy and nationalism do make for strange bedfellows, and perhaps that is the tragedy of the Irish. I did come away with a tremendous appreciation for A.E.


Homeward I go not yet; the darkness grows;
Not mine the voice to still with peace divine:
From the first fount the stream of quiet flows
Through other hearts than mine.

Yet of my night I give to you the stars,
And of my sorrow here the sweetest gains,
And out of hell, beyond its iron bars,
My scorn of all its pains.

A.E.

[David McGinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really difficult and unpleasant read. The book is all over the place and isn’t sure what it is; going from sober historical narrative to poetry analysis to philosophy. Chapters too big and meandering - I’m not sure that an editor cast an eye on this. Would have benefitted from better structure and more focus. An ambitious book but I wouldn’t recommend it.