Claire Keegan may not be a prolific writer (yet), but what she has written is worthy of impressive accolades, awards, and movie productions.
In her October 29th presentation, Sandra E. provided an informative and engaging discussion on Irish short story and novella writer, Claire Keegan.
Keegan’s writing has been compared to short story writers including Anton Chekhov, Alice Munro, and William Trevor. Her writing is economical: she tells The Guardian, “Elegance is just saying enough.”
Sandra provided vivid summaries of Keegan’s short stories “So Late in the Day” and “The Long and Painful Death,” and novellas Foster and Small Things Like These.
While Keegan’s writing frequently contains themes of male rage and misogyny, it also explores strong, female characters and quiet heroes. Issues surrounding the Catholic Church and Irish politics also find their way into Keegan’s works. The tragic and disturbing Magdalene Laundries, for example, are explored in Small Things Like These. Sandra describes Keegan’s stories as being notable for developing tension, without the drama: the drama has already taken place.
Among her long list of awards, Keegan won the lucrative Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award in 2009 for Foster. Small Things Like These was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and won the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
Many of Keegan’s stories including Foster and “So Late in the Day” can be found in The New Yorker. Both her novellas have been made into movies to be experienced on the big screen. Foster is renamed The Quiet Girl and was nominated in 2023 for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy, is coming to theatres this month (November 2024). This is a movie you won’t want to miss it!
Posted by Mooréa G.