From Migrant to Transnational: Contemporary Québécois Writing (1999–2010). (June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khordoc, Catherine
• Is Part Of: Québec studies. Volume 63(2016)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 98
• Publication Date: 2017-06
• Subjects: Québec (Province) -- Civilization -- Periodicals; French-Canadian literature -- Québec (Province) -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Littérature canadienne-française -- Québec (Province) -- Histoire et critique -- Périodiques; Québec (Province) -- Civilisation -- Périodiques; Civilization; French-Canadian literature; Québec; Criticism, interpretation, etc; Periodicals; 971.4005
• DOI: 10.3828/qs.2017.6
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0737-3759

Abstract

Abstract : While the study of écriture migrante has called attention to the writings of immigrants in Québec, it has also created a barrier that separates their works from those by non-immigrant writers. The works that are considered to fall under the label of écriture migrante are included, to a degree, but are also excluded from what is considered "Québécois literature." This article proposes that this barrier can be dissolved by studying works by immigrant and non-immigrant writers side by side, privileging comparable thematic or formal elements, and adopting approaches that bring them together rather than distinguishing them. A transnational approach is adopted to analyze five novels written by immigrant and non-immigrant writers published between 1999 and 2010: Ru, by Kim Thúy, Je suis un écrivain japonais by Dany Laferrière, Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner, Les larmes de saint Laurent by Dominique Fortier, and La conjuration des bâtards by Francine Noël. Through this transnational approach, our article illustrates that the preoccupations linked to mobility, immigration, national identity, and culture are not exclusive to écriture migrante, and that, in fact, it allows for a reconceptualized national literature in Québec characterized by fluid national identities and borders.