The Derry anthology - Sen McMahon

Derry, with its long tradition of learning, its turbulent history and its cross-fertilisation of Irish, English and Scottish cultures has always been a fertile ground for writing. This handsome new anthology, a sister volume to Patricia Craig's acclaimed Belfast Anthology, presents a wealth of writing about Derry city from earliest times to the present and includes fascinating extracts from fiction, history, poetry, letters and travel writing. The wide range of writers hints at Derry's eventful past - from St Columbkille through to John Wesley, William Thackeray and Mrs Alexander. In more recent times, writers like Sean O Faolain, Ben Kiely, Kathleen Ferguson, Nicholas Monsarrat, Brian Friel, Nell McCafferty, Jennifer Johnston, Eamonn McCann, Seamus Heaney, Michael Foley and Seamus Deane have all recorded vivid impressions of the city and its people. Researched and introduced by Derryman Sean McMahon, The Derry Anthology provides a complex and stimulating portrait of this ancient city.