The Poetry of Bloody Sunday: Reading Irish Poets

As a turning point that changed the course of the ‘Troubles’, the Bloody Sunday massacre continues to define ongoing debates about the legacy of the ‘Troubles’ and the impact of state violence. Bloody Sunday has been at the centre of numerous cultural and literary expressions, which deal with the grief and trauma of the massacre, such as murals, songs, plays, and poetry. This volume is the first comprehensive study of the poetry of Bloody Sunday written by critically acclaimed Irish poets, including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Thomas Kinsella, Seamus Deane, and Medbh McGuckian. By focusing on poems written between 1972 and 2015, this book examines each poet’s attempt to find an apt way of articulating the anger, trauma, and grief over the massacre, with most of the poets continuously returning to the shooting in their poetry throughout their careers. The monograph outlines how in the face of adversity the poets draw on old Irish literary traditions, such as Gaelic laments and Aisling poetry, which offer an indigenous, anti-colonial, and counter-hegemonic response to a massacre that was experienced as a colonial aggression. It also discusses the complex relationship between poetry and politics and the negotiation between aesthetic freedom and the moral obligation to write about Bloody Sunday.