Ruth Carr Explained

Ruth Carr (born 1953), also known as Ruth Hooley, is a Northern Irish writer.

A poet, Carr has edited several anthologies of writing by women, including the first anthology of Northern Irish women's literature. She has worked to promote the publication of writing by women and members of other underrepresented groups. Carr served as co-editor of the poetry magazine The Honest Ulsterman for 15 years.

Early life and education

Ruth Carr was born in Belfast in 1953.[1] She studied at Queen's University Belfast, Stranmillis University College, and Ulster University.[2]

Career

Carr's work is primarily as a poet and editor. Her poetry has been described as having "sensuous immediacy and moral wit."[3]

She has published three solo poetry collections. Her first, There is a House, was published in 1999, followed by The Airing Cupboard in 2008. Her most recent collection, 2017's Feather and Bone, draws on the lives of Mary Ann McCracken and Dorothy Wordsworth.[4]

In 1985, Carr edited the seminal anthology The Female Line, the first literary anthology of work by Northern Irish women writers.[5] [6] Initial funding for the book, which was published by the Northern Ireland Women's Rights Movement, came from the Equal Opportunities Commission, as well as local trade unions.[7] [8] Alongside established authors, several of the women whose work was included in the collection had never been published before.[9] The anthology sold out within a month of its first printing, and it was revived in 2016 in a digital format.[10]

Carr also contributed to 2002's The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, editing the section on contemporary women's fiction.[11] She became a founding member of the Word of Mouth women's poetry collective in 1991, and she co-edited its 1996 anthology Word of Mouth: Poems.[12] [13] In 2020, she co-edited the anthology Her Other Language: Northern Irish Women Writers Address Domestic Violence and Abuse with Natasha Cuddington.[14]

She served for 15 years as co-editor of the literary magazine The Honest Ulsterman. In 2003, she oversaw production of its final print issue, which honoured the late poet and Honest Ulsterman founding editor James Simmons.

In 2017, her work was included in the collection Female Lines, a spiritual successor to her 1985 anthology, edited by Linda Anderson and Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado.[15] [16] In 2021, she was featured in the anthology Look! It’s A Woman Writer!: Irish Literary Feminisms 1970–2020.[17] [18]

Carr, who lives in Belfast, has also worked as an educator, specializing in adult literacy.[19]

Personal life

Carr was previously married to record store owner Terri Hooley, with whom she had her elder daughter.[20] [21]

Selected works

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Field Day anthology of Irish writing. 1991–2002. Field Day Publications. Seamus Deane, Andrew Carpenter, Jonathan Williams. 0-946755-20-5. IV. Lawrence Hill, Derry, Northern Ireland. 24789891.
  2. Web site: Ruth Hooley (Carr). Troubles Archive.
  3. News: 30 July 1988. Quick readings. Ottawa Citizen.
  4. Web site: Sweeney. Joanne. 7 December 2017. Female northern poets celebrate joint publication of four new collections. 24 February 2021. The Irish News. en.
  5. Fulford. Sarah. 2001. Review of The White Page (An Bhileog Bhán): Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets. Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 90. 358. 231–233. 30095469 . 0039-3495.
  6. News: Devlin. Martina. 4 November 2017. A shape-shifting celebration of women writers in North. Irish Independent.
  7. Web site: Dardis. Colin. June 2018. Ruth Carr: An Interview. 24 February 2021. Honest Ulsterman. en.
  8. Web site: 19 October 2018. Carr, Ruth. 24 February 2021. Efacis.
  9. News: Sherratt-Bado. Dawn Miranda. 18 October 2017. A celebration of the rich tradition of Northern Irish women writers. The Irish Times. 24 February 2021.
  10. Web site: Savage. Claire. 21 November 2016. Relaunching The Female Line. 24 February 2021. Herself Press. en-US.
  11. Web site: Foster. Aisling. 4 January 2003. Review: The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing edited by Angela Bourke et al. 24 February 2021. The Guardian. en.
  12. Web site: Poetry Collective Word of Mouth. 24 February 2021. Lagan Press. en.
  13. Web site: Introduction to the anthology Word of Mouth. 24 February 2021. Troubles Archive.
  14. News: 16 January 2020. Arlen House publishes Her Other Language. Ulster Tatler. 24 February 2021.
  15. News: Hegarty. Neil. 11 November 2017. Female Lines: New Writing by Women from Northern Ireland review. The Irish Times. 24 February 2021.
  16. News: Anderson. Linda. 1 November 2017. Powerful collection points to more good things to come. Belfast Telegraph.
  17. Web site: Kelly . Mary Pat . 2021-12-04 . Irish Women Writers Celebrated in New York . 2022-07-21 . Irish America . en-US.
  18. Web site: Bell . Gail . 2021-10-02 . Look! It's a book of Irish women writers! . 2022-07-21 . The Irish News . en.
  19. Web site: Carr. Ruth. Belle Ombre / Three Poems. 24 February 2021. Belle Ombre. en-GB.
  20. Web site: Quigley. Maeve. 25 July 1999. Godfather of punk did it just for the kicks. 24 February 2021. Sunday Mirror.
  21. Web site: Marchant. Natalie. 19 April 2013. Interview Good Vibrations: How a record shop eased Belfast's Troubles. 24 February 2021. For Folk's Sake. en-US.

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