Afro-Swedish and Ojibwe-Canadian Trauma Life Writings: Storms from Paradise, Reasons for Walking, and the Opening of Planetary Circles of Conversation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/scancan233Keywords:
Indigenous literature, Black literature, decolonization, transcultural identity, trauma life writingAbstract
Following Spivak’s model of “crossing borders” and “planetarity”, this article compares two trauma life writings: Wab Kinew’s The Reason You Walk and Johannes Anyuru’s En storm kom från paradiset [A Storm Blew in from Paradise]. They negotiate transcultural identity construction and the intergenerational impact of colonialism, drawing respectively on Jewish philosophy of history, decolonization theory, and Indigenous Anishinaabe and Blackfoot worldviews. Deconstructing Eurowestern linear thinking, they reflect on the power of the moment and ongoing relational reciprocity. In this way, they embrace equity, diversity, and inclusion, and encourage planetary, transcultural, and decolonizing circles of conversation.
References
Allen, Chadwick. 2014. “Decolonizing Comparison: Toward a Trans-Indigenous Literary Studies.” In The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature. Edited by James H. Cox and Daniel Heath Justice, 377-94. New York: Oxford University Press.
Anderson, Linda. 2011. Autobiography. Second Edition. London and New York: Routledge.
Anyuru, Johannes. 2004. “Förord.” In The Latin Kings. Texter. Med ett förord av Johannes Anyuru, en historik av Tony Ernst och illustrationer av Ikaroz. Uppsala: Ruin.
———. 2012. En storm kom från paradiset. Stockholm: Norstedts.
———. 2015a. A Storm blew in from Paradise. Translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles. London: World Editions.
———. 2015b. Du paradis souffle une tempête. Traduit du suédois par Emmanuel Curtil. Arles: Actes Sud.
———. 2015c. Ein Sturm wehte vom Paradiese her. Übersetzt von Paul Berf. München: Luchterhand.
Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1981. The dialogic imagination. Four essays by M.M. Bakhtin. Edited by Michael Holquist. Translated by C. Emerson and M. Holquist. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Baldick, Chris. 2015. “Life writing” and “Novel.” In Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Edited by Chris Baldick, 200-201; 252-53. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780198715443.001.0001
Banerjee, Mita. 2019a. “Life Writing”. In Handbook of Autobiography/Autofiction. Volume I: Theory and Concepts. Edited by Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf, 336-41. Berlin: De Gruyter.
———. 2019b. “Postcolonialism.” In Handbook of Autobiography/Autofiction. Volume I: Theory and Concepts. Edited by Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf, 130-35. Berlin: De Gruyter.
BBC World Service. 2015. Outlook. Released on 04 May 2015. Interview with Johannes Anyuru, 09:37-18:06. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p02q2jv0.
BCSA, Black Canadian Studies Association. n. d. Statements. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.blackcanadianstudiesassociation.ca/statements.html.
Behschnitt, Wolfgang. 2007. “Alteritätskonstruktionen in der schwedischen Einwandererliteratur.” In Jiddische Sprache und Literatur in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Akten des XI. Internationalen Germanistenkongresses Paris 2005 / ‚Germanistik im Konflikt der Kulturen’. Jahrbuch für internationale Germanistik, Reihe A, Kongressberichte 78. Edited by Steffen Krogh and Jean-Marie Valentin, 311-17. Bern: Peter Lang.
———. 2008. “‘Willkommen im Vorort’. Neue schwedische Literatur zwischen Einwanderer- und Nationalkultur.” In Literatur der Migration – Migration der Literatur. Edited by Karin Hoff, 35-48. Frankfurt am Main: Lang.
———. 2013. “The Rhythm of Hip Hop: Multi-Ethnic Slang in Swedish Literature after 2000.” In Literature, language, and multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. Edited by Wolfgang Behschnitt, Sarah De Mul, and Minnaard, Lisbeth, 175-95. Amsterdam: Rodopi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401209854_009
Behschnitt, Wolfgang, and Magnus Nilsson. 2013. “‘Multicultural Literatures’ in a Comparative Perspective.” In Literature, language, and multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. Edited by Wolfgang Behschnitt, Sarah De Mul, and Lisbeth Minnaard, 1-15. Amsterdam: Rodopi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401209854_002
Bell, Alana. 2016. “Truth and Reconciliation in Life Writing.” In Biography 39, no. 4: 585-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2016.0069
Benjamin, Walter. 1974. “Über den Begriff der Geschichte.” In Gesammelte Schriften. Band 1,3. Edited by Rolf Tiedemann and Hermann Schweppenhäuser, 691-707 Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
———. 2007. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations. Essays and Reflections. Edited and with an introduction by Hannah Arendt; translated by Harry Zohn, 253-64. New York: Schocken Books.
Bergström, Pia. 2012. ”Anyurus roman känslig berättelse om sin pappa.” In Aftonbladet. Bokrecensioner. 24. December 2012. Acessed 10 October 2022. https://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/bokrecensioner/a/yvmRmr/anyurus-roman-kanslig-berattelse-om-sin-pappa.
Brancato, Sabrina. 2009. “Transcultural Perspectives in Caribbean Poetry.” In Transcultural English Studies: Theories, Fictions, Realities. Edited by Frank Schulze-Engler and Sissy Helff, 233-47. Amsterdam: Rodopi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789042028845_015
Bucholtz, Mary, and Kira Hall. 2005. “Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach.” In Discourse Studies 7, no. 4-5: 585-614. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
Carus, Paul. 1915. Goethe. With Special Consideration of his Philosophy. Chicago / London: The Open Court Publishing Company.
Caruth, Cathy. 1995. “Introduction.” In Trauma. Explorations in Memory. Edited by Cathy Caruth, 3-12. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Dagnino, Arianna. 2013. “Global Mobility, Transcultural Literature, and Multiple Modes of Modernity.” In Transcultural Studies 2: 130-60.
Doerfler, Jill, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark. 2013. “Bagijige: Making an Offering.” In Centering Anishinaabeg Studies. Edited by Jill Doerfler, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, xv-xxvii. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
Eibl, Karl, ed.1988. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Gedichte 1800-1832. In Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche. Band II: Lyrik II. Bibliothek deutscher Klassiker 34. Frankfurt am Main: Deutscher Klassiker Verlag.
Fanon, Frantz. 2021a. Black Skin, White Masks. Translated from the French by Richard Philcox. UK: Penguin Books.
———. 2021b. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated from the French by Richard Philcox, with commentary by Jean-Paul Sartre and Homi K. Bhabha. New York: Grove Press.
Gilroy, Paul. 2000. Between Camps: Race, Identity and Nationalism at the Ende of the Colour Line. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Hall, Joan Kelly 2008. “Language, education and culture.” In Encyclopedia of language and education, 2nd ed. Edited by Nancy Hornberger, 45-55. New York: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_4
Hall, Stuart. 1987. “Minimal Selves.” In The Real Me: Postmodernism and the Question of Identity. Edited by Lisa Appignanesi, 44-46. London: Institute of Contemporary Arts.
———. 1990. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” In Identity. Community, Culture, Difference. Edited by Jonathan Rutherford, 222-37. London: Lawrence and Wishart.
———. 2012. “Introduction. Who Needs ’Identity’?.” In Questions of Cultural Identity. Edited by Stuart Hall and Paul Du Gay, 1-17. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, et al.: Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446221907.n1
Hamburger, Michael. 1983. Goethe: Poems and Epigrams. London, Great Britain: Anvil Press.
Hele, Karl. 16 July 2020. “Anishinaabe.” In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anishinaabe.
Hylland Eriksen, Thomas. 2010. Small Places, large issues: An introduction to social and cultural anthropology. London, England: Pluto Press.
Kinew, Wab. 2015. The Reason You Walk. Toronto: Penguin.
Kjelsvik, Bjørghild, Pia Lane, and Annika Bøstein Myhr 2022. “Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Spoken, Written and Material Narratives.” In Negotiating Identities in Nordic Migrant Narratives. Edited by Pia Lane, Bjørghild Kjelsvik, and Annika Bøstein Myhr, 1-28. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan by Springer Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89109-1_1
Klee, Paul. 1920. “Angelus Novus.” The Israel Museum Jerusalem. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/199799-0.
Kreienbrock, Jörg. 2011. “Literaturwissenschaft.“ In Globalisierung: Ein interdisziplinäres Handbuch. Edited by Andreas Niederberger and Philipp Schink, 162-69. Stuttgart: Metzler.
Lahusen, Christiane. 2019. “Memoirs.” In Handbook of Autobiography/Autofiction. Volume I: Theory and Concepts. Ediited by Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf, 626-35: Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110279818-079
Lanza, Elizabeth. 2013. “Empowering a migrant identity: Agency in narratives of a work experience in Norway.” Sociolinguistic Studies 6, no. 2: 285-307. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v6i2.285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v6i2.285
Lanza, Elizabeth, and Anne Golden. 2022. “Wielding Space and Time in Migrant Narratives: Personal and Professional Identities in Discourse.” In Negotiating Identities in Nordic Migrant Narratives. Edited by Pia Lane, Bjørghild Kjelsvik, and Annika Bøstein Myhr, 111-36. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan by Springer Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89109-1_5
Little Bear, Leroy. 2016. Big Thinking and Rethinking: Blackfoot Metaphysics ‘Waiting in the Wings’. Big Thinking Lecture at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Calgary, Alberta, 1 June 2016. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_txPA8CiA4.
McHale, Brian. 8 April 2014. “Speech Representation.” In The Living Handbook of Narratology. Edited by Peter Hühn, et al. Hamburg: Hamburg University. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www-archiv.fdm.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/node/47.html.
Missinne, Lut. 2019. “Autobiographical Novel.” In Handbook of Autobiography/Autofiction. Volume I: Theory and Concepts.: Edited by Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf, 464-72. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110279818-061
Nilsson, Jenny Maria. 25 September 2012. ”Anyurus roman ’En storm kom från paradiset’ så bra att det svindlar.” In Sveriges Radio. Kulturnytt i P1. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=478&artikel=5283634.
Nilsson, Magnus. 2013. “Literature in Multicultural and Multilingual Sweden: The Birth and Death of the Immigrant Writer.” In Literature, language, and multiculturalism in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. Edited by Wolfgang Behschnitt, Sarah De Mul, and Lisbeth Minnaard, 41-62. Amsterdam: Rodopi. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401209854_004
Norstedts. 27 November 2017. Johannes Anyuru får Augustpriset 2017. Accessed 10 October 2022. http://www.norstedts.se/nyheter/176214-johannes-anyuru-far-augustpriset-2017.
Penguin Random House Publishers. 2019. The Reason You Walk. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/417538/the-reason-you-walk-by-wab-kinew/9780143193555/.
Pitawanakwat, Brock. 2013. “Anishinaabeg Studies: Creative, Critical, Ethical, Reflexive.” In Centering Anishinaabeg Studies. Edited by Jill Doerfler, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, 363-77. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
Silverstein, M. 2005. “Axes of evils: Token versus type interdiscursivity.” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 15, no. 1: 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1525/jlin.2005.15.1.6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/jlin.2005.15.1.6
Simpson, Leanne Betasamosake and Manitowabi, Edna. 2013. “Theorizing Resurgence from within Nishnaabeg Thought.” In Centering Anishinaabeg Studies. Edited by Jill Doerfler, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, 279-93. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
Sinclair, Niigonwedom James. 2013a. A History of Anishinaabeg Narrative. A Thesis Submitted on Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (English). The University of British Columbia (Vancouver).
Sinclair, Niigaanwewidam James. 2013b. “K’zaugin Storying Ourselves into Life.” In Centering Anishinaabeg Studies. Edited by Jill Doerfler, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, and Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, 81-102. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 2003. Death of a Discipline. New York: Columbia University Press.
Welch, Mary Agnes. 18 January 2018. “Wab Kinew.” In: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Accessed 10 October 2022. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/wab-kinew.
Whaley, John, and Matthew Bell, eds. 1998. Goethe. Selected Poems. London, Great Britain: J.M. Dent.
Whitehead, Anne. 2004. Trauma Fiction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Wiman, Johanna. 2018. “Johannes Anyuru, presenterad av Johanna Wiman.” In Nio författare. Hundra år i Göteborg. Edited by Gudrun Nyberg, 191-210. Stockholm: Carlssons.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Juliane Egerer
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
