Page Turners: ‘The Morrigan’ author Kim Curran
Author Kim Curran discusses her beloved literary titles, process, and writing about female rage, power and sisterhood through the lens of Irish mythology.
Dublin-born author Kim Curran brings a bold and powerful new voice to the table with this electric retelling of Ireland’s mythic goddess of war.
From an ancient, storm-tossed sea, a tribe of gods reach the rocky shores of Ireland. Among them, a strange, hungry, red-haired girl. A girl who can change shape, from bird to beast to goddess. A girl who dreams of battle, of blood, of death and power.
She does not know yet that her journey will take a thousand years. That her name will be remembered for a thousand more. She is The Morrigan: a girl with rage coiled in her chest. Beautiful, powerful, ravenous rage. A rage that will live forever.
Did you always want to be a writer?
For as long as I can remember, I made up stories. When I was about eight, I had a tiny red typewriter that I would clatter out stories on. When I was ten, I had a poem I wrote about a snail published in the local parish newsletter – oh, the heady taste of success. But I never imagined that writing was a real job or that you could actually get paid for it. So, in my teens, my plan was to be a journalist.
Then, somehow, after university, I found myself working as a copywriter in an advertising agency: a job I still do now, 25 years on. But the desire to tell stories of my own never left me. In my 30s, I dared to attempt to write and share a book. As with the vast majority of first books, it went nowhere. But it did teach me the discipline of finishing what I had started and set a fire in my belly. I tried again, writing a book for young adults. That was the book which got me an agent and my first book deal.
What inspired you to start writing?
Reading is and has always been one of my greatest passions. So writing my own books felt like a natural extension of that love. Plus, as the youngest of three children who was always desperate for attention, being able to say what I wanted to say without interruption was a delight.
Tell us about your new book, The Morrigan. Where did the idea come from?
The Morrigan is a retelling of Irish mythology from the point of view of the ancient Celtic goddess of war, fury and sovereignty. It follows her over a thousand years as she struggles to find her place in the world and finally sees her embrace her power and her raw fury. For centuries, The Morrigan was written out of the Irish epics, or sidelined by the monks who translated them. I wanted to give her her voice back.
The seeds of the book started back in 2016 when Hilary Clinton lost the election and the rage and disappointment I felt. I knew I wanted to write about women’s fury, but couldn’t find the right story for it. Until 2020, when I scribbled a note to myself: The Morrigan, Goddess of Fury? And it began.
What do you hope this book instils in the reader?
It’s about women’s rage and power. It’s about love and loss and sisterhood, and how women raise each other up, even as the world tries to tear them down. I hope that women feel seen in all their messy complexities and that it helps them to find peace with their own anger. And I hope that men learn a little more about women’s interior worlds.
What did you learn when writing this book?
Firstly, I learned an enormous amount about Irish mythology. I grew up hearing the tales about Cú Chulainn and the Tuatha Dé Danann from my father – who like many Irish men is a born storyteller. But mine was a surface knowledge at best. Diving into the research and immersing myself in Irish myth, folklore and legends was an awakening. I learned a lot about myself. In giving voice to The Morrigan’s rage, I tapped into my own. It was a hugely cathartic experience channelling that through her.
Tell us about your writing process.
My process for writing this book was unlike any other I had written before. Typically, I would start with a detailed outline and work steadily towards that. With this book, I wrote scenes out of order as the mood took me. The challenge then was to weave them together in a compelling and united narrative. I also was struck with writer’s block for the first time in my life. Fear that I wasn’t a good enough writer to achieve my ambitions would shake me to my core. But I took a little from The Morrigan’s fire and wrote through that fear.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
My own life, the life of everyone I know and the lives of those I don’t know, which I experience through reading.
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
Why must you do this to me? It changes all the time, so if you asked me this in a week’s time, my answer would be different. But, here goes. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, because she managed to make people who have been dead for hundreds of years feel more vibrant and alive than many walking around today. The Plague by Albert Camus because it shows us that even in the most hopeless of situations, the small pleasures of friendship are what give life purpose. The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, because it is like music in writing form.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
I think some of the greatest writers in the world right now are Irish, so this list could go on forever. Claire Keegan, Maggie O’Farrell, Sally Rooney, Doireann Ní Ghríofa – and that is only those living. As for honorary Irish authors, Marlon James, Claire North, Patrick Ness and Constanza Costi are on my must-read list.
What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?
Love, Sex and Frankenstein by Caroline Lea. The Tarot Reader of Versailles by Anya Bergman (in which The Morrigan also plays a role) and Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch. Each deals with women’s rage and shame in different but equally brilliant ways. I haven’t read it yet, but I can’t wait to get my hands on Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi.
What book made you want to become a writer?
Reading The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter was probably the first time I really thought ‘I want to do this’. Reclaiming old stories and making them your own felt seditious.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
Savage Her Reply by Deirdre Sullivan, a dark feminist retelling of the Children of Lir told from the point of view of Aífe, the ‘evil’ stepmother. Absolutely stunning and would introduce younger readers to Irish mythology in a new way.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
Apeirogon by Colum McCann. I started it last year and had to put it aside as the horrors unfolding in Palestine made it almost too raw to read. But I returned to it at the start of the year and it left me with a deep sense of hope for the future.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
Cultivate joy in it. There’s so much said about the agonies of writing, but truly if you don’t love the act of creating, don’t become a writer. That and tenacity count for more than talent.
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
Reading and writing increase our empathy and compassion; things the world needs more of now than ever.
Portraits by Robin Christian.
The Morrigan by Kim Curran, published by Michael Joseph, is on sale now.
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