TY - JOUR

T1 - Fiction keeps memory about the war alive

T2 - Mnemonic migration and literary representations of the war in Bosnia

AU - Ortner, Jessica

AU - Andersen, Tea Sindbæk

AU - Borcak, Fedja Wierød

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - This article investigates how literary works of fiction depicting wartimememories from Bosnia were received by groups of lay readers inCopenhagen, Manchester and Berlin. We introduce the concept ofmnemonic migration to include both the narrative strategies employedby migrant authors in order to represent such memories in newmnemonic contexts, and the reception of this type of literature indifferent social and cultural settings. By investigating readers’ reactionsto literature by migrants who write about topics related to own orfictional experiences in wartime Bosnia, we explore literature as amedium that makes memories travel and has the potential to createprosthetic memories. Studying what happens in the encounter betweenthe texts and recipients within three national communities ofremembrance – Denmark, Germany, and England – we ask if the textsare capable of representing Bosnian wartime memories in an emotionallyappealing manner that urges the reader to incorporate them into theirown stock of memories.Based on focus group interviews in the three cities, we argue that theagency of literature in transmitting memories into new frameworks islimited but definitely present. We found that the literary style of memorymediations was an important factor and many readers preferred textswith more clarity and factuality. Nevertheless, in spite of the frustrationexperienced by a significant group, most readers felt emotionallyengaged by at least parts of the texts. We observed that there wereconsiderable differences in how readers in the three social settingsrelated to the events. However, in all three countries, differencesbetween generational groups most obviously affected the readings.Often, the books made readers aware of the limited role of the BosnianWar in their respective public frameworks of memory and created a wishfor a more thorough commemoration of that event.

AB - This article investigates how literary works of fiction depicting wartimememories from Bosnia were received by groups of lay readers inCopenhagen, Manchester and Berlin. We introduce the concept ofmnemonic migration to include both the narrative strategies employedby migrant authors in order to represent such memories in newmnemonic contexts, and the reception of this type of literature indifferent social and cultural settings. By investigating readers’ reactionsto literature by migrants who write about topics related to own orfictional experiences in wartime Bosnia, we explore literature as amedium that makes memories travel and has the potential to createprosthetic memories. Studying what happens in the encounter betweenthe texts and recipients within three national communities ofremembrance – Denmark, Germany, and England – we ask if the textsare capable of representing Bosnian wartime memories in an emotionallyappealing manner that urges the reader to incorporate them into theirown stock of memories.Based on focus group interviews in the three cities, we argue that theagency of literature in transmitting memories into new frameworks islimited but definitely present. We found that the literary style of memorymediations was an important factor and many readers preferred textswith more clarity and factuality. Nevertheless, in spite of the frustrationexperienced by a significant group, most readers felt emotionallyengaged by at least parts of the texts. We observed that there wereconsiderable differences in how readers in the three social settingsrelated to the events. However, in all three countries, differencesbetween generational groups most obviously affected the readings.Often, the books made readers aware of the limited role of the BosnianWar in their respective public frameworks of memory and created a wishfor a more thorough commemoration of that event.

U2 - 10.1177/17506980221094514

DO - 10.1177/17506980221094514

M3 - Journal article

VL - 15

SP - 918

EP - 934

JO - Memory Studies

JF - Memory Studies

SN - 1750-6980

IS - 4

ER -