Trans-poetics in Hiromi Goto’s novels

Bibliographic Data

ID9003248
AuthorsZhen Liu (0000-0002-8440-2554, Shandong University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume57
Issue1
Pages186-202
Publication date2020-12-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Commonwealth Literature (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9894 • E-ISSN: 1741-6442
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0021989420980105
OpenAlexW3117232462
LanguageEN
References cited14

“Trans-” ideas — such as transgender, transnation, translation, and transculture — are being redefined in current research, and their full potential as critical categories is coming into view. Stryker, Currah, and Moore propose, for instance, that “transgender” should be seen not only as a descriptive term for identity, but as a valuable tool for dismantling the violence of the binary system and transcending traditional paradigm. In this article, I explore the possibilities of the prefix “trans” as a tool to dismantle discriminatory binary oppositions in Japanese Canadian writer Hiromi Goto’s novels. I argue that Goto creates transing spaces for her inbetweeners, or monsters. By claiming territory and affirming the value of liminal spaces for outcasts and misfits, those regarded as aliens or monsters can finally be at ease and at home. I also propose that the many dysfunctional families described in Goto’s novels are not only immigrant but transnational families that have to deal with transcultural politics to understand each other. Throughout my reading of the novels, the spatial-temporal dimensions of trans-ideas are stressed and demonstrated

Aesthetics · Art · Goto · Identity (music · Liminality · Literature · Poetics · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Transgender · American and British Literature Analysis · Anthropology · Canadian Identity and History · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Law · Short Stories in Global Literature

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