Paper short abstract:

My presentation aims to propose strategies for reading "border-crossing literature" (ekkyō bungaku) by tackling Rībi Hideo. A close reading that focuses on his writing style might lead us to regard his work as a truly literary practice, not as just testimony of our globalized world.

Paper long abstract:

Since the early 1990s literary works have emerged that critics would later call "border-crossing literature" (ekkyō bungaku), although they remain a marginal presence on the Japanese literary scene. These works, which are primarily characterized by being written in Japanese by non-native authors, have to-date tended to emphasize the globalized modern world and the main issues it faces, such as identity crises. As such, they have also challenged the concept of "Japanese literature," which had previously been accepted as a self-evident truth. Indeed, a number of studies on this literary genre have explored these very issues. What seems necessary today, however, is an analysis that not only takes into account external factors but takes a closer look at the internal movement perceptible in the text. Which words do border-crossing writers choose and use to address us, the readers? A close reading that focuses on the effects of the words underpinning each work might lead us to regard border-crossing literature as a truly literary practice.

My presentation aims to adopt this approach by tackling one of the most important border-crossing writers, Rībi Hideo, with a particular focus on his writing style. The work of this American author, who describes his own writing practice as "border-crossing", often features the theme of movement. And it is true that many of the sentences in his novels are written with verbs that indicate movement in the broadest sense of the term. On the other hand, these sentences are accompanied by multilayered segments or phrases that often slow the reader down, standing in stark contrast to the verbs of movement to which they relate. This contradictory written style creates texts that appear highly ambivalent as to the "border-crossing" concept that constitutes their original main theme. In this way, Rībi's novels provide insight into the most fundamental function of literature: the search for the possibilities and limits of language.