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Lost and Gained in Migration: The Writing of Migrancy

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From Literature to Cultural Literacy
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Abstract

It has become commonplace in contemporary cultural criticism to privilege notions of migration and migrancy over those of emigration or immigration. Whereas migrancy is hailed as a euphoric story of enrichment, the notions of emigration and immigration, along with that of exile, are seen as implying privation or loss, and seem increasingly relegated to an unfashionable past of demarcated identities and locations. This essay explores the significance of that critical trend, exemplified by much recent work on the writing of ‘migrancy’, including that of the Canadian literary critic, Sherry Simon, who has written extensively on translation and immigration in relation to the literature of Quebec.

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© 2014 Mary Gallagher

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Gallagher, M. (2014). Lost and Gained in Migration: The Writing of Migrancy. In: Segal, N., Koleva, D. (eds) From Literature to Cultural Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137429704_9

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