Clay (short story) Clay (short story) "Clay" is a short story by James Joyce published in his 1914 collection "Dubliners." It is important to note that due to this short story being left intentionally vague by its author, there can be numerous interpretations on what occurs in the story and the analysis of it. Maria, an elderly woman with a job in a rescue mission for wayward women, is looking forward to a holiday evening at the house of Joe, whom she nursed when he was a boy and of whom she is still very fond. She departs for Joe's after attending a
Irish short story Man". It was in 1905 that Joyce first attempted to get his famous collection of stories "Dubliners" published, and only after many attempts was it published in 1914. Liam O'Flaherty published his first collection, "Spring Sowing", in 1924, depicting the harsh life of his native Aran Islands. Daniel Corkery, "A Munster Twilight" (1916), was the first of a group of writers from County Cork. Seán Ó Faoláin, whose first collection "Midsummer Night Madness", 1932, was another member of this group, as was Frank O'Connor. His first collection was "Guests of the Nation", 1931. The work of this "Cork school" continued