One of the tragedies of the Armenian genocide is that there are still those who deny it happened. Beginning in 1914, the Ottoman authorities in Anatolia deported and killed over a million and a half ethnic Armenians. Although Turkey continues to deny it, the genocide against the Armenians is now generally recognized worldwide. Twenty-nine countries … Continue reading Literature of Exile: The Armenian Genocide
"This is from your family in Rwanda", Oprah said, handing me a tan envelope. She looked solemn, confident in her purpose. "From your father and your mother and your sisters and your brother". I opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of blue paper. Then Oprah put her hand on mine to stop me … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Clemantine Wamariya and exile as performance
Sometimes all that’s left of value in an exile’s life is his identity. Please stop asking people to rub out their face as tribute. Many refugees express profound thankfulness and love for their adopted homeland, yet they often feel burdened with the obligation to embrace their new country and reject the old completely. Criticism of … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Dina Nayeri
One of the coolest trends in literature is the proliferation of graphic novels as a format for addressing serious issues. Alison Bechdel, Daniel Clowes, and Chris Ware are just a few author/artists who have demonstrated that graphic novels can be high art and great literature. The most dramatic and influential graphic novel of the late … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Graphic Novels
"…where we come from the greatest achievement is to leave.” Arguably one of the richest traditions in exile literature is that of Cuban Americans. Given the strong economic and cultural ties between the two countries before Castro's revolution in 1959, it was hardly surprising that so many Cubans who fled the Communist takeover made the … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Cuba in the fiction of Cristina Garcia, Ana Menendez, and Achy Obejas
Yesterday, we read about the Rohingya of Myanmar, whose story has only recently become well known outside of the region. A far more familiar story of community exile is that of the Tibetans. 60 years after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, up to 100,000 Tibetan Buddhists live in exile in India, mostly in Dharamsala, … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Tibet
Hello again! Many of the authors we will read about this month were exiled in isolation, for their individual acts of dissent or rebellion. Yet there are stories of entire communities exiled and driven from their homelands. One such expulsion that has captured world attention in recent years is that of the Rohingya. Although they … Continue reading Literature of Exile: The Rohingya #ExileLit
My name is Lesley Williams, and I am guest editing the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative blog for November. What a tremendous honor! As a librarian, I enjoy combining my love of beautiful writing with advancing social justice. So what better theme to choose that the literature of exile? Ovid, Dante, Victor Hugo, Wole Soynika, … Continue reading #ExileLit Welcome to the Literature of Exile
Check out these 11 books of poetry, comics, short stories, novels and non-fiction anthologies. All by African writers. All #ownvoices. Meanwhile... Graphic short stories about everyday queer life in Southern and East Africa. By the Qintu Collab. English. Short Story Collection. So this work that we all do as artists and culture makers – we … Continue reading #GlobalPRIDELitMonth: Queer Africa: #ownvoices books from LGBTQ2IA+ African Writers
The most famous and probably most important writer born in Bulgaria is Elias Canetti. The Nobel Prize Winner was born 1905 in Ruse at the Danube, at that time an important trading center and the most modern town in Bulgaria. Although Canetti was neither by ethnicity, nor by nationality, nor by language a Bulgarian author … Continue reading Once upon a time in Bulgaria – Elias Canetti: The Tongue Set Free
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 