Narrative, Resistance and Manus Prison Theory

Abstract

Abstract In early 2020 Behrouz Boochani and Omid Tofighian conducted a speaking tour of the United States, Canada, UK, and Europe (including Ireland). They presented at numerous universities, including the University of Cambridge. In their Cambridge talk they focused on the transformative potential of storytelling and the importance of creating new intellectual frameworks for resistance. Key themes and issues in their discussion included features of Manus Prison Theory, analysis of the book No Friend but the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison, Australia's detention industry, and colonialism. The three parts of this article involve: the context to Boochani's incarceration and the creation and success of his award-winning book; a dialogue between Boochani and Tofighian; and a series of analytical remarks by Tofighian in response to audience questions.