CONTEMPORARY ARABIC LITERATURE AND MIGRATION. New Poetics and Perspectives

The volume provides a fresh look at contemporary Arabic literature on the experiences of migration, forced displacement and exile, with a particular focus on the period from the First Gulf War to the present. It traces thematic fusions, genre and stylistic innovations in literary works by and about migrants, refugees and other displaced persons, and covers a wide geographical area, representing not only the Arab world but also various destination countries, including Europe and North America. Questioning the impact of recent waves of forced displacement and migration from Arab countries on the literary field, the volume explores new understandings of identity and generational conflicts embedded in different types of narratives, while highlighting debates regarding displaced subjectivities and the use of the label ‘refugee literature’ in the Arab sphere, where this definition is widely debated. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between literature produced in countries of origin and countries of asylum, as well as to the representation of the ‘state of exception’ in the context of street and camp life. In addition, the volume explores the contribution of literary productions represented by poetry, prose and drama to discourses and debates on human rights, as well as the linguistic choices and aesthetic concerns within them, including formal experiments and the intersection of genres.