World Biofictionalists in Translation
Literature as Existential Map
Will be published approx. on 1. April 2027
Book
Hardback
288 pages
979-8-7651-3769-7 (ISBN)
Description
Seventeen authors of the world's most famous biofictions discuss their works with literary scholars to answer vitally important questions about the relevance and power of literature.
How do authors metaphorize the life of a real person in order to diagnose cultural sicknesses and offer readers healthier and more just ways of thinking and doing? How can biofiction fictionalize the life of a person in order to give readers an existential map for becoming a more autonomous and agential being? How can biofiction contribute to human happiness? How can it combat mental illness?
World Biofictionalists in Translation brings together some of the most prominent creative writers across the globe in order to explore the value and power of literature, specifically biofiction, to transform and improve human lives; to encourage and promote interpersonal, intercultural, and international communication; and to generate interest in non-English speaking writers, cultures, and countries.
With a cross-cultural and transnational focus, these interviews seek to contribute to the conditions for a more informed, humane, and tolerant global order. But more importantly, this collection of interviews illustrates how we are better as people and nations when we collaborate on the project of engaging literature to better understand, define, and create ourselves as individuals, cultures, and countries.
How do authors metaphorize the life of a real person in order to diagnose cultural sicknesses and offer readers healthier and more just ways of thinking and doing? How can biofiction fictionalize the life of a person in order to give readers an existential map for becoming a more autonomous and agential being? How can biofiction contribute to human happiness? How can it combat mental illness?
World Biofictionalists in Translation brings together some of the most prominent creative writers across the globe in order to explore the value and power of literature, specifically biofiction, to transform and improve human lives; to encourage and promote interpersonal, intercultural, and international communication; and to generate interest in non-English speaking writers, cultures, and countries.
With a cross-cultural and transnational focus, these interviews seek to contribute to the conditions for a more informed, humane, and tolerant global order. But more importantly, this collection of interviews illustrates how we are better as people and nations when we collaborate on the project of engaging literature to better understand, define, and create ourselves as individuals, cultures, and countries.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Laminated cover
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
391 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-3769-7 (9798765137697)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michael Lackey is Distinguished McKnight University Professor of English at the University of Minnesota, USA. He is the author or editor of 13 books, including of The Modernist God State: A Literary Study of the Nazis' Christian Reich (Bloomsbury, 2012), Truthful Fictions: Conversations with American Biographical Novelists (Bloomsbury, 2014), The American Biographical Novel (2016), and German Exile Biofiction: The Metaphorical Art of Counteracting Christian Nationalism (Bloomsbury, 2026).
Content
Introduction: The Rise and Legitimization of World Biofiction
Michael Lackey (University of Minnesota, USA)
1. Bridging Centuries through Biofiction
Mohammed Hasan Alwan (Saudi Arabia), interviewed by William Maynard Hutchins (Appalachian State University, USA)
2. "Literature is friction": Biofiction as Biofriction
Juan Bonilla (Spain), interviewed by Mario Millanes (Independent Scholar, Spain)
3. Alvaro Enrigue's Ludic Imagination: Biofiction as a Machine to Better Envision the Present
Alvaro Enrigue (Mexico), interviewed by Virginia Newhall Rademacher (Babson College, USA)
4. Biofictions of Obsession
Edgardo Franzosini (Italy), interviewed by Riccardo Castellana (University of Siena, Italy)
5. Biofictional Portraits in Colors and Words
Ara de Haro (Spain), interviewed by Barbara L. Mujica (Georgetown University, USA)
6. Metaphorical Vessels Containing Many in Polish Biofiction
Jacek Dehnel (Poland), interviewed by Robert Kusek (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
7. Breathing Life into the Past through Biofiction
Florina Ilis (Romania), interviewed by Laura Cernat (KU Leuven, Belgium)
8. Biofiction as Theater
Arthur Japin (Netherlands), interviewed by Petra Teunissen (Independent Scholar, Netherlands)
9. Activating Intellectual and Ethical Life through Biofiction
Javlon Jovliyev (Uzbekistan), interviewed by Feruza Khajieva (Bukhara State University, Uzbekistan)
10. Factual Cornerstones and Creative Constellations in Biofiction
Francois Loots (South Africa), interviewed by Mathilda Slabbert (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
11. Double Criticism as a Social Duty in the Postcolonial Biographical Novel
Hassan Najmi (Morocco), interviewed by Hossame Boudaghia (University of Abdelmalek Essaadi, Morocco)
12. Chance Encounters, Historical Shifts, and Cross-Cultural Interactions in Japanese Biofiction
Kyoko Nakajima (Japan), interviewed by Madoka Nagado (University of the Ryukyus, Japan)
13. Biofictional Ghosts of a Lost Utopia
Leonardo Padura (Cuba), interviewed by Francisco Siredey Escobar (University of Washington, USA)
14. Biofiction as "half magic, half science" in Gergely Peterfy's The Stuffed Barbarian
Gergely Peterfy (Hungary), interviewed by Csaba Horvath (Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church, Hungary)
15. The Complex Mystery and the Mystery of Complexity in Danish Biofiction
Jesper Wung-Sung (Denmark), interviewed by Jeppe Barnwell (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
16. The Biofictional Textures of the Human Interior
Sri Perumpadavam Sreedharan (India), interviewed by Teresa J. Heloise (Little Flower College, India) and Roy Mathew (Little Flower College, India)
17. Chinese Biofiction and Legal Liability in K: The Art of Love
Hong Ying (China), interviewed by Charles Laughlin (University of Virginia, USA)
Michael Lackey (University of Minnesota, USA)
1. Bridging Centuries through Biofiction
Mohammed Hasan Alwan (Saudi Arabia), interviewed by William Maynard Hutchins (Appalachian State University, USA)
2. "Literature is friction": Biofiction as Biofriction
Juan Bonilla (Spain), interviewed by Mario Millanes (Independent Scholar, Spain)
3. Alvaro Enrigue's Ludic Imagination: Biofiction as a Machine to Better Envision the Present
Alvaro Enrigue (Mexico), interviewed by Virginia Newhall Rademacher (Babson College, USA)
4. Biofictions of Obsession
Edgardo Franzosini (Italy), interviewed by Riccardo Castellana (University of Siena, Italy)
5. Biofictional Portraits in Colors and Words
Ara de Haro (Spain), interviewed by Barbara L. Mujica (Georgetown University, USA)
6. Metaphorical Vessels Containing Many in Polish Biofiction
Jacek Dehnel (Poland), interviewed by Robert Kusek (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
7. Breathing Life into the Past through Biofiction
Florina Ilis (Romania), interviewed by Laura Cernat (KU Leuven, Belgium)
8. Biofiction as Theater
Arthur Japin (Netherlands), interviewed by Petra Teunissen (Independent Scholar, Netherlands)
9. Activating Intellectual and Ethical Life through Biofiction
Javlon Jovliyev (Uzbekistan), interviewed by Feruza Khajieva (Bukhara State University, Uzbekistan)
10. Factual Cornerstones and Creative Constellations in Biofiction
Francois Loots (South Africa), interviewed by Mathilda Slabbert (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
11. Double Criticism as a Social Duty in the Postcolonial Biographical Novel
Hassan Najmi (Morocco), interviewed by Hossame Boudaghia (University of Abdelmalek Essaadi, Morocco)
12. Chance Encounters, Historical Shifts, and Cross-Cultural Interactions in Japanese Biofiction
Kyoko Nakajima (Japan), interviewed by Madoka Nagado (University of the Ryukyus, Japan)
13. Biofictional Ghosts of a Lost Utopia
Leonardo Padura (Cuba), interviewed by Francisco Siredey Escobar (University of Washington, USA)
14. Biofiction as "half magic, half science" in Gergely Peterfy's The Stuffed Barbarian
Gergely Peterfy (Hungary), interviewed by Csaba Horvath (Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church, Hungary)
15. The Complex Mystery and the Mystery of Complexity in Danish Biofiction
Jesper Wung-Sung (Denmark), interviewed by Jeppe Barnwell (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
16. The Biofictional Textures of the Human Interior
Sri Perumpadavam Sreedharan (India), interviewed by Teresa J. Heloise (Little Flower College, India) and Roy Mathew (Little Flower College, India)
17. Chinese Biofiction and Legal Liability in K: The Art of Love
Hong Ying (China), interviewed by Charles Laughlin (University of Virginia, USA)