No Authority: Writings from the Laureateship

by Anne Enright

Anne Enright is one of the brightest lights in contemporary Irish literature. Her novels have received numerous major awards, including the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and she frequently appears in the pages of publications such as the New Yorker and the Guardian . In 2015, Enright was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction by the president of Ireland. No Authority —the first book in University College Dublin Press’s series of the uncollected writings of the Laureates for Irish Fiction—turns the spotlight toward Enright’s short stories and nonfiction. The pieces in this book explore a range of topics—many touching on the idea of authority, and who truly possesses it—ranging from Enright’s relationship with Irish literature, how she coped with the loss of her father and the ascent of Trump in the same year, and the groundswell to lift the Irish constitutional ban on abortion in 2018. No Authority reveals the breadth of interest and expertise, as well as the urgent concern for the role of women in contemporary Irish society, that characterizes the work of this literary luminary in any genre.
 

Genres: Nonfiction

120 pages, Hardcover

Published January 20, 2020

About the author

Anne Enright was born in Dublin, where she now lives and works. She has published three volumes of stories, one book of nonfiction, and five novels. In 2015, she was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Her novel The Gathering won the Man Booker Prize, and The Forgotten Waltz won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Reviews

[T P Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining. A hodge podge of essays and short stories. Nicely presented but very short. The writing is passionate. The lectures were the strongest element of this collection.

[Mee Ok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise and impeccably written, she is a woman at the height of her intellect and spiritual power, articulating the urgency of a heart-centered feminist approach to our misguided world. What a gift to our species.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incisive and bloody brilliant - essays on gender and writing in Ireland interspersed with short works of fiction.

[Ronan Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enright's never not an absolute delight to read, and this loose assembly of annual lectures delivered during her tenure and smaller, shorter pieces written throughout is a great testament to her fierce intelligence and biting humour.