I’ve already mentioned how much I love the Roaring Forties ArtPlace series, but I won’t apologize for saying it again. The latest creative guide in this fantastic alternative series is A Journey into Ireland’s Literary Revival by R. Todd Felton. Instead of focusing on the life of one artist in a particular city, this unique guide takes a look at an entire group of writers and their individual relationships with various nooks and crannies of the entire Emerald Isle.
Felton takes the authentically Irish literature of writers such as W. B. Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory and Sean O’Casey and uses it as a tool for exploration. This historic literary travelogue takes readers to places like Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Dublin. And along the way makes visits to the cottages, castles, theaters and pubs where some of the country’s finest writers shaped a vision of Ireland. This is a nice series for armchair travelers looking to bypass logistical details, and a perfect fit for literary fans who wish to see the country from a cultural perspective.