Memory Frictions in Contemporary Literature

Dr. María Jesús Martínez Alfaro is Senior Lecturer at the Department of English and German Philology of the University of Zaragoza. Her research focuses on contemporary narrative in English, more specifically on memory, ethics and trauma in relation to the novels of Martin Amis, A.S. Byatt, Charles Palliser, Jane Yolen, Cynthia Ozick and Rachel Seiffert, among others. She has widely published in journals such as Twentieth-Century Literature, Symbolism, Journal of Narrative Theory, EJES. Dr. Silvia Pellicer-Ortín is Lecturer at the Department of English and German Philology in the Faculty of Education of the University of Zaragoza. Her main research interests are related to contemporary narrative in English, focusing on trauma and Holocaust studies, British-Jewish women writers, and feminism. She has delivered several papers and published articles on these topics in international forums such as Atlantis, CCS, Critical Engagements and Humanities. She recently published her monograph entitled Eva Figes’ Writings: A Journey through Trauma (2015).

“The book achieves a remarkable unity by supporting a polyphonic and multidirectional approach to memory, and paying due attention both to the narrative, structural and literary peculiarities of the material, and its thematic, geographic and political scope. … I am looking forward to sequels of Memory Frictions by the authors of this profound and inspirational collection.” (Julia Kuznetski, Miscelánea, Vol. 62, 2020)

• 1. Introduction: Memory Frictions: Conflict-Negotiation-Politics in Contemporary Literature in English: María Jesús Martínez-Alfaro and Silvia Pellicer-Ortín.- 2. The Powers of Vulnerability: The Restorative Uses of Elegy: Jean-Michel Ganteau.- 3. Narrative Form, Memory Frictions and the Revelation of Traumatic Secrets in Toni Morrison’s Home: Susana Onega Jaén.- 4. The Zigzag Trajectory through Time of Colum McCann’s TransAtlantic: Sandra Singer.- 5. Public Art and Communal Space: The Politics of Commemoration in Amy Waldman’s The Submission: Paula Martín-Salván.- 6. A Korean ‘Apocryphal’ Island: Once the Shore, by Paul Yoon: Marc Amfreville.- 7. False Memories, False Foods: Eating, Cooking, Remembering in Tastes Like Cuba by Eduardo Machado: Nieves Pascual Soler.- 8. The Holocaust in the Eye of the Beholder: Memory in Carmel Bird’s The Bluebird Café (1990): Bárbara Arizti Martín.- 9. Lore, or the Implicated Witness: Rachel Seiffert’s Postmemory Work: Suzanne Baackman.- 10. ʽNo Redress but Memoryʼ: Holocaust Representation and Memorialisation in E.L. Doctorow’s City of God: María Ferrández San Miguel.- 11. Re-Mapping the Trauma Paradigm: The Politics of Native American Grief in Louise Erdrich’s “Shamengwa”: Silvia Martínez-Falquina.- 12. Wendy Law-Yone’s The Road to Wanting (2010): The Role of Place and the (Im)Possibility and (Un)Willingness of Remembering the Way Back Home: Dolores Herrero.- 13. Negotiating Traumatic Memories in Louise Erdrich's The Round House: White Man's Law vs. Native Justice and Tradition: Aitor Ibarrola-Armendariz.- 14. Conclusion: Robert Eaglestone.