American literature and Irish culture, 1910-55: The politics of enchantment discusses how and why American modernist writers turned to Ireland at various stages during their careers. By placing events such as the Celtic Revival and the Easter Rising at the centre of the discussion, it shows how Irishness became a cultural determinant in the work of American modernists. It is the first study to extend the analysis of Irish influence on American literature beyond racial, ethnic or national frameworks. Focusing on individual writers allows for a close scrutiny of the complexities of cultural influence. The first chapter discusses how writers exaggerated or played down their family connections to Ireland. The second chapter considers the impact of the Celtic Revival on American modernists, gauging the responses of writers to the 'Celtic' ideal. In the third chapter, the Revivalists' sentimentality towards the rural is tracked onto portrayals of the Irish landscape within American poetry and essays. The fourth chapter considers American responses to political events in Ireland to assess the dual problems of responsibility and national self-assertion. Finally, the fifth chapter assesses the legacy of W.B. Yeats within American literary culture, analysing individual responses to Yeats as man and poet. Through close readings and archival research, American literature and Irish culture, 1910-55 provides a balanced and structured approach to the study of the complexities of American modernist writers' responses to Ireland. Offering new readings of familiar literary figures - including Fitzgerald, Moore, O'Neill, Steinbeck and Stevens - it makes for essential reading for students and academics working on twentieth-century American and Irish literature and culture, and transatlantic studies.