VALUING LITERARY WORK IN ¡YO! (1997), BY JULIA ÁLVAREZ AND CREATE DANGEROUSLY (2010), BY EDWIDGE DANTICAT
Authors
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Giselle Román-Medina
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8697-0910
Abstract
Drawing from ¡Yo! (1997), by Julia Álvarez, and Create Dangerously (2010), by Edwidge Danticat, I discuss how both authors have been accused of capitalizing on other people’s lives to better position themselves in the literary market, highlighting the ways in which these accusations have shaped their writing. I argue that in response Álvarez has assigned a therapeutic role to literature, thus defending her exclusive dedication to writing -even if only rhetorically-, while Danticat’s writing has incorporated traits of journalism as a way of legitimizing her work. Although these creative answers formally differ, both authors seek to validate their literary work in terms of a usefulness that negotiates with the demands that challenge them as diasporic writers.
Keywords:
Literary work, Value, Instrumentality, Julia Álvarez, Edwidge DanticatReferences
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