Revolutionary Bodies: Homoeroticism and the Political Imagination in Irish Writing

Revolutionary bodies provides a detailed study of the erotics and politics of the male body in Irish fiction. Some of the authors discussed in the book include: Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, John Broderick, Colm Tóibín, Keith Ridgway, Jamie O’Neill, Micheál Ó Conghaile and Barry McCrea. The book critically analyses the emergence of contemporary Irish gay fiction since 1993, especially its most notable genres: the coming out romance and the historical romance. It assesses the role of the novel in the evolution of Irish LGBT politics, mapping a literary and cultural space where the utopian aspirations of sexual liberation have clashed with the reformism and neo-liberal political rationality of identity politics.

Revolutionary bodies offers a unique critical intervention into our understanding of queer Irish cultures in the wake of the 2015 referendum and the Varadkar election.

Michael G. Cronin is Lecturer in English at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth