Monolingualism and the novel: It’s complicated…?

Abstract

In the first issue of the Journal of Literary Multilingualism, we collected together a range of scholars assessing and debating the field of Literary Multilingualism Studies, but we also realised that a single issue could only scratch the surface of this dynamic and growing field of study. Moreover, we were aware of some absences and blind spots and of the need to be constantly revising, questioning and examining the field. This forum, appearing in each issue of the journal, aims to continue the conversation started in Issue 1: it is a space for shorter, more informal reflections on the field and its future, in forms that might include position papers, dialogues between scholars, roundtable discussions, responses to articles within the journal, and responses to recent multilingualism conferences or events. We welcome proposals for Forum contributions, particularly from marginalised perspectives or on neglected aspects of literary multilingualism. Please contact us directly to discuss ideas. For this first forum, we asked David Gramling, who has recently spoken about ‘breaking up’ with multilingualism, how his attitude to the field has changed in recent years, and why. We also asked him to think of the direction Literary Multilingualism Studies should take in the future, in terms of its objects, its theories, and the genres it treats.