Misneach: A Story of Kidnap, Enslavement, and Colonialism

Without warning, an Englishman's hand

cups Aoife McGuire's mouth, silencing her

before the chance to utter a word.

So begins the verse-story of Aoife McGuire, a midwife in Ireland 1650, kidnapped by Oliver Cromwell's men, and sent into the New World. The next years of her life trace the harrowing trajectory of many others stolen for the benefits of nationalism and economic superiority. Their voices are finally heard in the poetic imagery of one young woman's unconscionable capture and the bravery-the misneach-needed to survive.