Not-the-Troubles: Disinterring the Marginalised Stories of the Ordinary and the Everyday

ABSTRACT

Urban studies of Belfast, Northern Ireland, thoroughly explore the contested or post-conflict city. However, these ‘grand narratives’ do not necessarily accord with people’s day-to-day experiences. Although the ordinary and the everyday are the lifeblood of anthropological inquiry, the mundane in Belfast dwells on the narratorial margin, as academic and political loci predominantly align to the Troubles: to the protagonists, the causes or the peace-building aftermath. Ten by Nine (Tenx9) is a monthly, public storytelling night showcasing ordinary people and their true, personal, everyday stories, juxtaposing the funny, poignant and educational, and celebrating the quotidian. Retelling Belfast at Tenx9 challenges hegemonic discourse by moving the mundane from the margin to the centre, opening up a space for small ‘t’ troubles to be shared. The communitas at Tenx9 promotes a sense of belonging in the city outwith Troubled narratives and storytelling, an ancient Irish oral culture, becomes a new form of symbolic practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Divided city
• Belfast
• urban margins
• storytelling
• communitas

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Thanks to Barbara Heer, Ana Aceska, Andrea Kaiser-Grolimund and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and to Katherine Denney for her close reading of the text.

2 Pseudonyms used when requested.

3 A selection of podcasts is now available on the Tenx9 website, although was not during my fieldwork in 2014.