Herstory is thrilled to host the first book launch of Karina Tynan’s extraordinary creation: TÁIN: THE WOMEN’S STORIES.
On Sunday 28th November at 11am (Irish Time / GMT) on Herstory’s Youtube Channel (playback available now), Herstory Founder Melanie Lynch will be in conversation with Karina Tynan who will read some of the retellings and share her creative process of rewriting the great Irish epic TÁIN from the women’s perspective.
TÁIN is the first publication from the legendary Bard Mythologies, founded by Sandy Dunlop and Ellen O’Malley Dunlop in 1995. Clare Island has been the venue of the Bard’s Annual Summer School and Karina Tynan has been a member of the Bard Team for over 25 years.
Thomas Kinsella in his introduction to his translation of The Táin says: “Probably the greatest achievement of the Táin and the Ulster cycle is the series of women, some full scale and some in miniature, on whose strong and diverse personalities the action continually turns: Medb, Derdriu, Macha, Nes, Aife. It may be as goddess-figures, ultimately, that these women have their power; it is certainly they, under all the violence, who remain most real in the memory.”
Ellen O’Malley Dunlop Director of Bard Mythologies says: “In her book Karina Tynan has brought out all the women in the Táin to their full scale and left none in miniature, in her beautifully crafted, and creative book TÁIN The Women’s Stories. Tynan is not afraid to take on the ‘strong and diverse personalities’ of these mythic women and delve down into their bellies where she explores their power from a new and creative place and shows us the workings of the complex and varied nature of what it is to be a woman.
Tynan’s daughter Kathy, the acclaimed visual artist, illustrates her mother’s work so beautifully and sensitively that the images, like the stories, remain with you for a very long time after you put down the book.”
Karina cites that unearthing a love of myth and a desire to find their underlying contemporary meanings, came from her participation and association with the Bard Summer School which was a turning point in her life and in her creative career. Since then, inspired by the Irish myths and over 25 years of exploration, she has written back the women’s perspective. The Táin; from the Ulster Cycle is her first collection to be published.
Pre-order the book on Karina’s website and follow her on Instagram.
If you missed the book launch of TÁIN: The Women's Stories by Karina Tynan you can watch the recording now on #Herstory's YouTube Channel.
