New Books in Literary Studies Eibhear Walshe and Eleanor Fitzsimons, "Speranza: Poems by Jane Wilde" (Liverpool UP, 2025)
Oct 1, 2025
Dr. Eleanor Fitzsimons, a biographer and researcher focused on women's voices, discusses her work co-editing 'Speranza: Poems by Jane Wilde.' She delves into Jane Wilde's significant role in the 1840s Young Ireland movement and her advocacy for women's rights and education. The conversation highlights the themes of hardship in her poetry, particularly around famine and migration, and explores her evolution as a nationalist. Fitzsimons also shares insights on the contemporary reception of Wilde’s work and her enduring legacy as a poet and activist.
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How Speranza Entered The Nation
- Jane Elgee began submitting translations to The Nation under a male pseudonym and surprised editors when she revealed herself in person.
- Charles Gavin Duffy visited expecting a man and was greeted by a tall, striking young woman, launching her nationalist poetic career.
Poetry As Political Catalyst
- Speranza's famine-era poems galvanized readers by translating public anger into calls for armed uprising.
- Her timing and emotive depiction of suffering made her poetry a rallying voice for Young Ireland.
Translations Built A European Bridge
- Roughly half of Speranza's output were translations from many European languages, which she adapted to Irish contexts.
- This positioned Irish poetry within a pan-European romantic-revolutionary movement and made her work distinctive.
