The migrant text : making and marketing a global French literature

A wide-ranging analysis of French literature and immigration, inventing a new category for migrant texts. The expression "littérature migrante," coined by Québécois critics in the mid-1980s, reflected the emerging body of literary works written by recent immigrants to the province. Redefining the concept of migrancy, Subha Xavier's The Migrant Text argues that global movements of people have fundamentally changed literary production over the past thirty years. Bringing together a corpus of recent novels by immigrants to France and Quebec, Xavier suggests that these diverse works extend beyond labels such as francophone or postcolonial literature to forge a new mode of writing that deserves recognition on its own terms. Weaving together literary theory and salient examples taken from numerous French-language novels, The Migrant Text shows how both external and internal factors shape migrant writing in contemporary French literature. The opening chapters trace the elusive concept of the migrant as it appears in extant theories of nationalism, postcolonialism, world literature, and francophonie. What follows are incisive analyses of fiction written for French audiences by authors from Algeria, Cameroon, China, Haiti, Iraq, and Poland, whose works reveal that the processes of troubling national categories and evading colonial power dynamics can be wellsprings for creativity. One of the most pressing social and political topics of our day, immigration challenges our ideas about homeland and citizenship. Celebrating the courage and tenacity of immigrants from around the world, The Migrant Text carves a new space for discussing the dynamics of global literature. The expression "littrature migrante," coined by Quebecois critics in the mid-1980s, reflected the emerging body of literary works written by recent immigrants to the province. Redefining the concept of migrancy, Subha Xavier's The Migrant Text argues that global movements of people have fundamentally changed literary production over the past thirty years. Bringing together a corpus of recent novels by immigrants to France and Quebec, Xavier suggests that these diverse works extend beyond labels such as Francophone or postcolonial literature to forge a new mode of writing that deserves recognition on its own terms. Weaving together literary theory and salient examples taken from numerous French-language novels, The Migrant Text shows how both external and internal factors shape migrant writing in contemporary French literature. The opening chapters trace the elusive concept of the migrant as it appears in extant theories of nationalism, postcolonialism, world literature, and Francophonie. What follows are incisive analyses of fiction written for French audiences by authors from Algeria, Cameroon, China, Haiti, Iraq, and Poland, whose works reveal that the processes of troubling national categories and evading colonial power dynamics can be well-springs for creativity. One of the most pressing social and political topics of our day, immigration challenges our ideas about homeland and citizenship. Celebrating the courage and tenacity of immigrants from around the world, The Migrant Text carves a new space for discussing the dynamics of global literature Cover THE MIGRANT TEXT Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: Major, Minor, Migrant PART ONE THEORY 1 From Weltliteratur to the Migrant Text 2 The Migrant Undercurrents of Critical Theory 3 Creative Agency and Literary Markets PART TWO POETICS 4 Negotiating Culture 5 Linguistic Interference 6 Migrant Feminisms Conclusion: A Global French Literature Notes Bibliography Index