The Tree is Missing, and ‘Literature and politics strolled hand in hand’: censorship, surveillance, and poetry in Northern Ireland and Romania in the 1980s

Abstract

Using Eastern European storytelling traditions, folklore, evasive and coded language, and translation, the creative component, The Tree is Missing, considers the half-histories one is left with after political and personal turmoil and the ways in which censorship silences or modifies truth. Across its three parts, The Tree is Missing moves through history and language, with the same cast of characters appearing in 1930s Polish theatres, contemporary suburban apartment blocks, quiet, forgotten piazzas, and lonely balconies. Part three consists of a long poem detailing life in Tarnów, Poland, just before World War II. Interspersed with recipes, folk songs, and church registries, it acts as a partial cipher for parts one and two.

The critical component, “Literature and politics strolled hand in hand”: Censorship, Surveillance, and Poetry in Northern Ireland and Romania in the 1980s’, considers forms of censorship and surveillance in Northern Ireland and Romania in the 1980s and assesses the ways that poetry confronts, grapples with, and responds to these potentially limiting political contexts. Reading poems by Ciaran Carson, Paul Muldoon, Medbh McGuckian, Marin Sorescu, and others, the thesis analyses the poetic strategies used to negotiate, confront, or defy political constraints.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st December 2028. Please note that due to copyright reasons the creative component 'The Tree is Missing' (pp.4-67) is redacted from view for 10 years until 31 December 2034. 

Date of Award	Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	AHRC Northern Bridge Consortium
Supervisor	Stephen Sexton (Supervisor), Gail McConnell (Supervisor), Fran Brearton (Supervisor) & Piotr Blumczynski (Supervisor)