FINGERTIPS STAINED WITH INK

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, Italy has evolved from a country of emigrants to a destination for migrants from Africa, Asia and Latin America. This process has entailed the growth of a body of literature written by first- and second-generation migrants in Italian, published in Italy and addressed to both migrant and native readers. This paper discusses some of the thematic and formal aspects of this literature, which has been by and large neglected by Italian academic criticism. While most of the earlier writings were variations on the form of testimony and autobiography, more imaginative forms have been attempted recently, ranging from plays to science fiction and the novel, and the quality has been steadily growing. On the one hand, new metaphors have been explored to define the sense of fragmentation and in-betweenness implied in the migration experience and in the new, intercultural context. On the other hand, migrant writers have often felt that they needed to establish their right to use the Italian language by proving their proficiency in it, thus sometimes shackling the innovative possibilities generated by their very presence. The paper discusses some of the most interesting examples of code-switching and multilingual expression in contemporary migrant literature in Italy.

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