Introduction: Life Writing and European Identities

Abstract

Since the turn of the millennium, life writing has been a burgeoning field, with identity formation as one of its key themes. In terms of identity ‘Europe’ is still relatively understudied, despite the fact that biographies and autobiographies have long been used to constitute or foster European identities, as is the case, for example, with respect to the so-called ‘founding fathers’ of the EU. Life writing bears at least as much potential to challenge such master narratives of Europe and make an important contribution to the ongoing debate about European identity. This special issue on life writing and European identity illustrates this, in articles ranging from Ai Weiwei’s art exhibition #SafePassage (2016) and the (contested) dichotomy of Western and Eastern European modernity in Vesna Goldsworthy’s memoir Chernobyl Strawberries (2005), to life in post-war Norway in Karl Ove Knausgard’s bestselling novel cycle Min Kamp (2009–2011) and the meta-biographical work of novelist A.S. Byatt.