Idiomas

Migration, literature and cultural memory
Jacqueline Bel

Abstract
The current appreciation of migrants’ literary work in the Netherlands shows that this literature is becoming established and is no longer limited to a few isolated successes. Migrant writers belong simultaneously to two cultures, a fact inevitably reflected in their work. The migration of entire communities has caused bordersto fade, while cultures cease to be bound to so-called ‘fixed cartographies’. Literature is no longer studied as an autonomous phenomenon, disconnected from its context, and it is now generally accepted that authors write about or allude to real events, mixing fact and fiction and interweaving various discourses. This article asks to what extent Dutch migrant literature reflects the specifichistory of groups of migrants. To what extent does this literature relate to the cultural collective memory of authors who have links with two cultures? And, more generally, what is the role of literature in historical consciousness? Keywords: migration; cultural memory; Dutch Moroccan, Dutch East Indies literature; Frans Lopulalan

Bi-cultural literature by migrants is becoming increasingly popularin the Netherlands today (see Anbeek 1999). This is borne out by the impressive book sales of first- or second-generation migrant authors. Bruiloft aan zee (1996) [Seaside Wedding], by the Moroccan-Dutch writer Abdelkader Benali, was reprinted fifteen times in short succession and translated into several other languages;1 De voeten van Abdullah (1996) [Abdullah’s Feet], by Hafid Bouazza, also ofMoroccan descent, was reprinted several times;2 Khalid Boudou made his debut in 2001 with Het schnitzelparadijs [The Cutlet Paradise], which received positive reviews from the leading national newspapers and was reprinted for the eleventh time in 2007.3 Moreover, it is not only Dutch Moroccan authors who are popular; currently all migrant authors seem to be attracting attention. In 2001, the themeof the Dutch National Book Week was ‘The country of origin’ raising the issue of being between two cultures. Most newspapers and magazines regularly review migrant literature and Salman Rushdie was invited to write the complementary publication given to every customer spending more than 12 euros in the bookshop (he wrote the short novel Woede (2001) [Anger]4). In 2006, the Iranian refugee KaderAbdolah entered the Dutch Top 100 bestseller list with his novel Het huis van de moskee [The House of the Mosque]. The current appreciation of migrants’ literary work in the Netherlands shows that this literature is becoming established and is no longer limited to a few isolated successes. Migrant writers belong simultaneously to two cultures, a fact inevitably reflected in their work. Themigration of entire communities has caused borders to
Journal of Romance Studies doi:10.3167/jrs.2011.110108 Volume 11 Number 1, Spring 2011: 91–101 ISSN 1473–3536 (Print), ISSN 1752–2331 (Online)

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fade, while cultures cease to be bound to so-called ‘fixed cartographies’. Literature is no longer studied as an autonomous phenomenon, disconnected from its context, as Ann Rigneydiscusses in her article ‘Portable monuments: literature, cultural memory and the case of Jeanie Deans’ (2004). It is now generally accepted that all authors write about or allude to real events. They may write about historical events, about the experience of collective changes or traumas, each in their own distinct literary way, using literary strategies, mixing fact and fiction and interweavingvarious discourses. But to what extent does this migrant literature reflect the specific history of these groups of migrants? To what extent does this literature relate to the cultural collective memory of authors who have links with two cultures? More generally, what is the role of literature in historical consciousness? Cultural memory In his well-known study Das Kulturelle Gedächtnis (1992)...