Uudiste arhiiv
Borders and Life-Stories. Folklore: EJF 52.
The theme issue Borders and Life-Stories (Guest editors: Tuulikki Kurki, Kirsi Laurén; vt aadressil http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol52/) focuses on geographic, cultural and micro-level borders which are examined through written life-stories and narratives.
The articles examine published and unpublished memoirs and life-stories, as well as poetry, in which national borders, borderlands and crossing borders are central themes. The life-stories and memoirs are individual accounts, yet they reflect the collective, culturally shared narratives and meanings of borders that are maintained in literature, media, art and politics. Therefore, the analysed texts open viewpoints to larger cultural and collective narratives about borders and make visible their multi-layered character.
The articles stress two themes in the analysed texts: The first is the narra¬tive construction of the narrator’s identity in relation to the national border, and in relation to ‘we’ and ‘other’ on the different sides of the Finnish-Russian, Estonian-Russian, or the Finnish-Swedish national borders. The identity for¬mation process in relation to the national border is often emotional and trau¬matic. In these cases, the border appears as a dividing line or a boundary that has a permanent influence on an individual’s life. The second theme is the construction of various symbolic and metaphoric borders contained within the narratives. The time, place, and space of the narration influence how the narrators make the border understand¬able and meaningful to themselves.
In addition, the readers of the new issue can obtain a brief coverage of the more relevant events and enjoy a book reviews.
