Elaine Feeney is a multi-talented Irish writer who has made a mark in literature with her bold and unapologetic approach to storytelling. Her work has been lauded for its sharp wit, keen observations, and unflinching commentary on the tough issues of our time. However, Elaine’s unique perspective on the world did not come easy. In this article, we delve into her life and explore the experiences that have shaped her writing. From growing up in a conservative Catholic community to uncovering the harsh realities of societal expectations, Elaine has never shied away from confronting the often-uncomfortable truths about our world. Join us as we explore the life of Elaine Feeney, a writer who has challenged the status quo and won the hearts of readers worldwide.
Elaine Feeney is a writer, poet, and intellectual who is constantly appraising Irish life through her work. Her energy is rapid-paced, turbulent, free-flowing, constantly churning, and every inch the intellectual. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband and two sons in the same house she grew up in, on the same road where several generations of her family grew up before her. It is important to her to write about the place she is from.
Feeney has been writing prolifically since her 20s, first as a slam poet, then as a written-word poet with four acclaimed collections, and more recently as a novelist. Her debut novel, As You Were, won the Kate O’Brien Award, the Dalkey Emerging Writer Award, and was shortlisted for many other prizes, including the Rathbones Folio Prize. As well as writing, she works as the interim director of the creative writing masters at NUI Galway and is a founding member of the Tuam Oral History Project, set up to record, archive, and explore the life stories of survivors of the Tuam mother and baby home.
We are meeting to discuss Feeney’s second novel, How to Build a Boat, but her short story Same, Same has just been published in the spring edition of the Paris Review, the literary equivalent of getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Feeney entered the world of fiction in 2020, with the publication of As You Were, a glorious, noisy, state-of-the-nation book. “The first novel was very frenetic and written after my time in hospital,” she says. Feeney was hospitalized 10 years ago with life-threatening sepsis. “It was almost a panic-write. My mood writing How to Build a Boat was completely different. We were locked down. It was far less of an intrusion and far more of a patient unfolding.”
The book tells the story of Jamie, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence; Tadgh, a teacher from the islands; and Tess, another teacher who is crumpling under the unhappiness of her marriage, her sad family background, and the injustice she sees at the school where all three characters cross paths. While As You Were cast its beam across the past 100 years of Irish social history, How to Build a Boat focuses its spotlight on relationships, families, and community.
The character of Jamie has been described as “neurodiverse”. “I suppose he is neurodiverse but I don’t label any of the characters in this book, and that’s not a get-out. I am the parent of a son who is neurodiverse and I wrote it from the perspective of the anxiety of a parent parenting someone with neurodiversity, but I think it would be reductive of me to overly comment,” she says.
While Feeney’s work is known for interrogating the contemporary experience of women, in this book, she also looks at the experience of men and boys. “It goes back to the idea that the patriarchy destroys lots of people, everybody. I taught boys for 20 years and I have sons and I have a great husband, but I was really surprised and quite shocked at what boys were expected to do from a young age, how they were expected to behave with regards to being sporty, masculine, strong – all the usual stereotypes. I thought about boys who are outside of that, all of them are in some way, and how it didn’t feel nuanced enough to me. We need to embrace the complexities of the human condition.”
Feeney is joyfully complex, a vibrant mix of influences and interests that resist categorization. “When I was being billed as a performance poet, I wanted to get published in hyper-literary magazines because I hate being boxed. And then the minute I was a page poet I wanted to try fiction, and then I wanted to genre hop. My husband was afraid to propose because the minute I feel trapped I run, I go for the light,” she laughs.
Perhaps resisting being shoved into the author box too neatly, Feeney has also completed a new collection of poetry, her first in six years. It will be published next year by Harvill Secker and while How to Build a Boat is optimistic and beautiful, All the Good Things You Deserve delves into dark personal waters.
“I think for me it was a counterbalance to the novel. My poetic psyche is quite dark.” One of the funnier poems in the collection is about lockdown. At the time, Feeney tweeted a daily account of her experience cocooning, which was side-splittingly funny.
“I didn’t know it was funny. I think I’m funny by accident. I don’t mean to be. I told you, I want to be a serious writer,” she says, and her gale of laughter echoes through the room once more.
In conclusion, Feeney is an accomplished writer who has published poetry collections and a novel that has received critical acclaim. She is constantly trying to avoid being categorized, and her latest collection of poetry delves into darker personal topics. Feeney is also exploring the experience of both men and women in How to Build a Boat, a story set in the west of Ireland, where Feeney is firmly rooted. With her energy and intellect, Feeney is a force to be reckoned with in the literary world.
Elaine Feeney’s passionate advocacy for gender equality is truly inspiring. Her personal experiences have shaped her into a fierce advocate for change, and it is clear that she will stop at nothing to ensure that all individuals are granted the same opportunities, regardless of their gender. Feeney’s message is not just a call to action, but a reminder of the importance of speaking up and speaking out against injustices in our society. As we move forward into a future that is more inclusive and equitable for everyone, we can all learn from Feeney’s example and continue to fight for a world where gender stereotypes and discrimination have no place.
