This work brings together in one volume the diverse and articulate voices of 17 Irish women writers from a variety of backgrounds and geographic locations. It examines the complicated maps of experience that these women's public, private, and literary lives represent, particularly as they engage with both feminism and postcolonialism. Acknowledging Mary Robinson's revised view of Irish identity as global rather than insular, this work recognizes the importance of identity as a site of mobility. The interviews reveal how complex the terms feminism and postcolonialism are; they examine how the...

"Fine words butter no parsnips" is an expression dating back 400 years. "Twocking" and "chav" are popular new arrivals in the ever-growing vocabulary of British slang. What do words and phrases like these have in common, and what sets them apart? That's what this fascinating book sets out to explore. Along the way, it illuminates the whole process of word formation and proliferation. How are new words and phrases born? What's special about the ones that enter common usage? How do mistakes and jokes affect a word's career? Why do some words die, never to be used again? With examples ranging...