Skip to main content
Martha O'Brien

Martha O'Brien

(she/her)

Research Student/Graduate Tutor

School of English, Communication and Philosophy

Overview

I am a graduate tutor in English Literature, teaching the first year module, Drama: Stage and Page.

I am in the final year of my PhD researching deconstructionism in contemporary Welsh writing in English, supervised by Dr Tomos Owen.

Research

My main research interest is Welsh writing in English.

Additional research interests include:

  • Contemporary British Fiction
  • Modern British Theatre
  • Place, class and identity in the production and reception of literature and theatre
  • Contemporary Welsh culture(s)
  • Deconstructionist thinking, spectral theory & Jacques Derrida

Biography

After completing my BA and MA at Cardiff University, I commenced my PhD studies in October 2020. My research is funded by the AHRC through the SWW-DTP2 and I am jointly supervised by Dr Tomos Owen (Cardiff University) and Dr Kirsty Sedgman (Bristol University). 

I am a co-founder and co-editor of Welsh arts magazine,nawr, which showcases Welsh and Wales based artists and writers. nawr has hosted a range of events in person and online, including a 2022 exhibition and summer festival. I regularly attend arts events to speak about the magazine and Welsh art, and have appeared on ITV Wales's Backstage programme to talk about Welsh writing in English.

In 2023, I was selected as one of 14 'Emerging Writers' to attend a Literature Wales course in creative non-fiction writing. I have published work in Wales Arts Review, The Welsh Agenda and The Letters Page journal.

I have worked with Literature Wales and CREW to create help sheets for teachers teaching WJEC GCSE students studying Welsh writing in English.

Research themes

Specialisms

  • 20th Century
  • Popular and genre literature
  • Welsh literature
  • Welsh English
  • Drama, theatre and performance studies