Ep. 138 - Lizzie Twigg (w/ Elizabeth Foley O'Connor)

“Everybody who met her liked her - because she was warm and outgoing. Here I am saying good things about Lizzie. Poor Liz - nobody remembers her now.” - Padraic Colum, 1969

This episode features an interview with scholar Elizabeth Foley O’Connor about Irish poet Lizzie Twigg, her legacy as a poet, her brief mention in Ulysses, how she fell under James Joyce’s critical eye, and why she deserved better. We also discuss tarot artist Pamela Colman Smith, the subject of Foley O’Connor’s book Pamela Colman Smith: Artist, Feminist & Mystic.

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On the Blog:

The Women of Ulysses: Lizzie Twigg 

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Further Reading:

1. Adams, R. M. (1962). Surface and Symbol: The Consistency of James Joyce’s Ulysses. New York: Oxford University Press.

2. Bowen, Z. (1969). Note: Lizzie Twigg: Gone but Not Forgotten. James Joyce Quarterly, 6(4), 368–370. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486791 

3. Coleman, Z. (n.d.). Susan L. Mitchell. Women’s Museum of Ireland. Retrieved June 28, 2023, from https://www.womensmuseumofireland.ie/exhibits/susan-l-mitchell 

4. Mills, B. (2017, August 27). Lizzie Twigg: Irish Woman Poet Number 101. Elliptical Movements. https://ellipticalmovements.wordpress.com/2017/08/27/lizzie-twigg-irish-woman-poet-number-100/ 

5. O’Connor, E.F. (2021). The Space Between Fiction and Reality: Uncovering the Real Lizzie Twigg. James Joyce Quarterly 59(1), 7-24. doi:10.1353/jjq.2021.0034.