Translingual, Transnational, and Transmedial Narratives

The contemporary rise in global movement, amidst the forces of globalization and both forced and unforced migration, accompanied by the rise in new media and its new forms of expression, has enriched the field of life writing. As writers migrate across borders and boundaries, as they explore alternative identity formations that escape binary definitions, and as they experiment with new forms of self-expression, the prefix trans has become a prevalent and multifarious element of the genre. This special issue emanates from a conference on the trans in life writing and focuses on three specific and overlapping elements of it: translingual, transnational, and transmedial life writing. This issue thus engages with life writing across languages, cultures, national borders, and media.