Literary Inspiration

Need some Northern Irish literary inspiration?

People from our neck of the woods are known for fondness for talking as colourfully as possible – and at a thousand miles an hour. So, it’s no surprise there are enough great writers and poets from Northern Ireland to fill Belfast’s largest pub. (Note to self: must find out which one that is!) The finest authors and poets to have ever come from our wee part of the world really do have a way with words and something to say.

If you want to start to get under the skin of Northern Ireland and it’s people, and understand the landscapes and communities you’ll get to know on one of our guided hiking holidays or experiences, our favourite local books and poems as listed below will really help get you on The Inside Trek right away.

From the funny to the heart-breaking, this writing is both evocative and informative. And all the while that famous Northern Irish humour is never far away, no matter how serious the topic (and a number of these works do not shy away from our troubled history).

So sit back, and lose yourself among these masterpieces from the best literary gods in Northern Ireland. Then come and find your Inside Trek, so you can see for yourself:

Seamus Heaney – New Selected Poems 1966-1987

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/seamus-heaney/new-selected-poems-1966-1987/GOR001302635

Louis MacNeice – Selected Poems

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/louis-macneice/selected-poems/GOR002534521

Colin Bateman – Divorcing Jack

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/colin-bateman/divorcing-jack/GOR000647011

CS Lewis – The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/c-s-lewis/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe/GOR004021576

Alexander Irvine – My Lady of the Chimney Corner

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/alexander-irvine/my-lady-of-the-chimney-corner/GOR003572971

Anna Burns – Milkman

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/anna-burns/milkman/GOR009481604

David Ireland – ‘Cyprus Avenue’ and ‘Ulster American’ (both plays)

https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/s/65559/cyprus-avenue

https://www.concordtheatricals.co.uk/s/64572/ulster-american

PS: And if you are going to buy any of these fabulous works, please try to buy both second hand, and from an independent, as we’ve tried to help you with in the links above.

Please don’t lazily buy from Amazon.  We know they’re cheap and super convenient, but we believe things like community and the planet are much more important. Great Northern Irish writing is worth waiting for, we promise