Unfortunately, technological constraints on sound recording until the mid-twentieth century means that most of her vast repertoire was written down with no permanent audio record.įortunately, in the early 1950s it became possible to make field recordings and some of those form the basis for this volume. The book that became a set school text gives little idea of her importance as a traditional storyteller, although her autobiographical writings do provide valuable context and background.Ī number of these international scholars published stories they had written down from her oral performances, and the Irish Folklore Commission recognised her importance and collected from her intensively.
Peig Sayers became a focal point for many of the visiting scholars for a number of reasons: she was a noted conversationalist and an exceptional storyteller with clear diction and a willingness to share her wealth of traditional tales. A visit to Dingle’s Café Liteartha reveals versions in a range of European languages.
Their interest in that community and its oral literature led to a number of island autobiographies, the best known being Peig, The Islandman and Twenty Years A Growing, which all met with success and were translated into English and other languages. Scholars from Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe made their way to the island in the early twentieth century to learn Irish and collect folklore. It tells of her struggle with poverty and life on the Atlantic coast, mostly on the Great Blasket Island and on the mainland. Bo Almqvist and Pádraig Ó Héalaí (eds) | New Island Books | hb €24.95 w/2 audio CDs | 340pp | 9781848407671.įor some people, encountering the book Peig at school became the embodiment of an unproductive engagement with the Irish language, while for others, her autobiography was a unique account of an ordinary woman’s life (1837–1958). Peig Sayers: Níl Deireadh Ráite/Not the Final Word.
0 kommentar(er)
