The hustle and bustle of the Barone Campus Center quickly diminished as the night came to a close, yet students and professors alike found themselves festering with excitement in the Dogwood Room, books in hand.
On Sep. 23 Fairfield University hosted the 2004 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature winner Claire Kilroy in an “Open VISIONS Forum: Espresso” event. In a discussion led by Fairfield English Professor and National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay, Kilroy spoke about her newest novel “Soldier Sailor”.
Recognized as the “London Times” novel of the year, “Soldier Sailor” delves into the complexities of motherhood in an already isolated world.
Having written five novels, Kilroy’s poignant prose is influential to the study of 21st-century Irish literature and provides commentary on the fragmented identity of Ireland in the modern world.
With an 11-year gap between her most recent works, the Irish novelist discussed her relationship with creativity after giving birth to her child.
Sitting down and staring at a blank screen, Kilroy no longer wished for her identity to be that of solely a mother, yet found difficulty in writing about other topics.
“All I had was all I was, a woman talking to her child,” Kilroy explained.
And so she wrote.
Having grown up being told that motherhood was easy and lesser than having a paid job, the Irish writer’s younger self sought no fulfillment in having children. The idea is that, in order to be a good writer, one must not have children, standing strong.
Yet in having her own child many years later, she discovered that it’s “So demanding it’s like being in the U.N.”
Phil Klay, having served in the U.S. Marine Corps made a similar comparison in his conversation with Kilroy.
“Boot camp was not preparation for war, it was preparation for a baby,” the renowned author often jokes.
The new mother then took her own experiences, and transformed them into picturesque prose, despite what the world had preached to her about her role as a mother.
Kilroy discussed the stereotype that you are either a boring mother or a childless cat lady. Challenging these ideas, the author explained that in experiencing childbirth, a mother is laying down their life for someone else without question.
“It’s a relationship that endures till death,” she explains, “You remember your loved ones, what else is there than love?”
Kilroy further touched upon the expectations of others when it comes to being an author.
“There is no path for writing,” she assured.
Further asserting that writing is one of the core endeavors of being in the world and a task that is deeply rooted in her own heritage.
Comparing the art of writing to that of raising a child, in her final statement, Kilroy called out to those who write themselves, “Count the text’s fingers and toes before you say goodbye.”
A harrowing glimpse into the extreme isolation and loss of sense of self that comes along with becoming a mother in the modern day, Claire Kilroy’s “Soldier Sailor” is a must-read.
