Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space
Set in a fictional world in many ways evocative of our own, John Berger’s From A to X (2008) imagines the ghostly correspondence between A’ida and her lover Xavier, a political activist indefinitely detained for defying an authoritarian government. The novel combines the epistolary genre and an inte...
Sábháilte in:
| Foilsithe in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc, |
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| Príomhchruthaitheoir: | |
| Formáid: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Teanga: | Anglais |
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Études britanniques contemporaines
2023
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_14151 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_14151 https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.14151 urn:doi:10.4000/ebc.14151 en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/14151 2023-11-30T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/fedv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space Études britanniques contemporaines Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-5444 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1168-4917 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc Leblond, Diane contemporary British fiction intermediality letter John Berger word and image studies time and space in literature spatial form epistolary literature littérature britannique contemporaine intermédialité lettre John Berger études mot/image temps et espace en littérature forme spatiale littérature épistolaire Set in a fictional world in many ways evocative of our own, John Berger’s From A to X (2008) imagines the ghostly correspondence between A’ida and her lover Xavier, a political activist indefinitely detained for defying an authoritarian government. The novel combines the epistolary genre and an intermedial dialogue between A’ida’s words and drawings: the letter, as graphic unit drawn on paper or as combination of words reaching across space to an addressee, therefore plays a crucial role in considering the possibility of political resistance and resilience. This is because the letter tends to put forward a different idea of space as a modality of perception and cognition. Historically, critical debates on the relation between words and image have relied on an agonistic understanding of time and space as competing aesthetic forms. In From A to X however, spatiality is seen in an entirely different light, within an effort to resist an authoritarian separation between time and space. Through the letter, fiction creates an anti-dualistic place of resistance for citizen-readers who are also creatures in space-time. Dans un monde fictionnel très similaire au nôtre, From A to X (2008) de John Berger imagine une correspondance passée, imparfaitement conservée, entre A’ida et Xavier, son amant et activiste politique incarcéré pour avoir mis au défi un gouvernement autoritaire. Le roman combine le genre épistolaire et un dialogue intermédial entre les mots et dessins d’A’ida. La lettre, en tant qu’unité graphique tracée sur le papier aussi bien que texte adressé à un destinataire, joue un rôle crucial dans l’élaboration de stratégies de résistance—notamment parce qu’elle propose une autre compréhension de l’espace. Les débats critiques sur le rapport mot/image ont longtemps reconduit la conception agonistique d’une lutte entre les formes esthétiques du temps et de l’espace. Mais dans From A to X c’est une toute autre pensée de la spatialité qui s’ébauche, dans la résistance à une séparation autoritaire entre ces deux modalités perceptives. L’écriture épistolaire permet l’articulation d’un espace et d’un temps qui ne soient plus des formes du sens distinctes. Dans et par la lettre, la fiction élabore un lieu de résistance anti-dualiste, destiné à des citoyens lecteurs qui sont eux-mêmes des créatures spatio-temporelles. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
contemporary British fiction intermediality letter John Berger word and image studies time and space in literature spatial form epistolary literature littérature britannique contemporaine intermédialité lettre John Berger études mot/image temps et espace en littérature forme spatiale littérature épistolaire |
| spellingShingle |
contemporary British fiction intermediality letter John Berger word and image studies time and space in literature spatial form epistolary literature littérature britannique contemporaine intermédialité lettre John Berger études mot/image temps et espace en littérature forme spatiale littérature épistolaire Leblond, Diane Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| description |
Set in a fictional world in many ways evocative of our own, John Berger’s From A to X (2008) imagines the ghostly correspondence between A’ida and her lover Xavier, a political activist indefinitely detained for defying an authoritarian government. The novel combines the epistolary genre and an intermedial dialogue between A’ida’s words and drawings: the letter, as graphic unit drawn on paper or as combination of words reaching across space to an addressee, therefore plays a crucial role in considering the possibility of political resistance and resilience. This is because the letter tends to put forward a different idea of space as a modality of perception and cognition. Historically, critical debates on the relation between words and image have relied on an agonistic understanding of time and space as competing aesthetic forms. In From A to X however, spatiality is seen in an entirely different light, within an effort to resist an authoritarian separation between time and space. Through the letter, fiction creates an anti-dualistic place of resistance for citizen-readers who are also creatures in space-time. |
| author |
Leblond, Diane |
| author_facet |
Leblond, Diane |
| author_sort |
Leblond, Diane |
| title |
Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| title_short |
Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| title_full |
Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| title_fullStr |
Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Letters From A to X: An Ethics and Politics of Space |
| title_sort |
letters from a to x: an ethics and politics of space |
| publisher |
Études britanniques contemporaines |
| publishDate |
2023 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.14151 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/14151 |
| _version_ |
1877292608183599104 |