Writing Under Socialism

Using a comparative approach that crosses disciplines and continents, Writing under Socialism offers a critical re-evaluation of the position of literary production under socialist states past and present using new material, theories and methodologies that have come to light since 1989. The volume brings together academic experts researching the interactions between writing and politics in diverse contexts across the former Eastern Bloc, Latin America, and China. In contrast with literary production under capitalist regimes, writers living under socialism have had to negotiate a role for themselves and their writing within an institutional framework defined by a specific political and ideological value-system and entirely administered by the state. Whilst socialist regimes tend to place a high value on literary practice, they also find it a source of potential political subversion. It is the nature of this contradiction that has attracted the attention of numerous researchers in the past. However, as the contributions to this volume demonstrate, writing under socialism involves more than the traditional dichotomy of intellect versus power and instead includes complex relationships between the different actors, institutions and policies that together form the context of literary production in a given state. By offering fresh perspectives on writing in a range of socialist countries, Writing under Socialism highlights the commonalities and differences in these complex relationships. Writing under Socialism will be of direct interest to scholars working on literary, historical and political analyses of cultural production under socialisms past and present.