NEMLA (Northeast Modern Language Association)
Literature of Migration: migrant writers in Italy
The massive migrant movement to Italy that followed the fall of communism in Eastern countries in the early 90s is just the beginning of an ongoing massive migrant movement. Immigrant writers’ depictions of their home country often show a tormented relationship with the homeland. For example, the poet Gezim Hajdari’s depictions of Albania present to us a startling variety of perspectives: from an “earthly heaven” to a land of “wintery mud and darkness” (“Fango e buio invernale”).
This roundtable seeks to explore representations of the homeland from the perspective of migrant writers and intellectuals residing in Italy. How did or how do these writers see their homeland through the lenses of Italian culture? How do their representations of the homeland reflect inner tensions with respect to questions of identity?
Please send a 300-word proposal along with a one page CV to Lidia Radi (lradi@richmond.edu) by September 25, 2016. This is a roundtable and presentations should be no longer than 10 minutes maximum, in order to permit time for discussion and questions.