Migrant Writing in Sweden

This book offers a unique and accessible study of migrant writing in the Swedish context. Sweden used to be renowned for its welcoming migration policy. This changed abruptly with the migration crisis in 2015 when refugees arrived in big numbers. An anti-immigration atmosphere grew stronger, supported by an expanding right-wing party. Yet to some Swedes, experiences of exclusion, even racism, were nothing new. As evident in fiction and opinion pieces by writers born in Sweden to immigrant parents, or having moved there as children, such experiences are nothing new. Throughout the book anthropologist Helena Wulff explores writing about diversity as craft and career: learning to write, getting published, breaking through and building reputation, getting prizes, dealing with competition, and performing one’s literature in public. Since some of this work is translated into other languages, creative translation is considered, as are future scenarios, a recurrent topic in migrant writing. Combining evocative ethnography with a scrutiny of texts, Wulff argues that these writers educate mainstream Swedes about their own society. Ultimately, the book is about the impact of literature on society. It will be of particular interest to scholars and students in anthropology, sociology, comparative literature, migration studies and beyond.