Placeless People: Writings, Rights, and Refugees

by Lyndsey Stonebridge

In 1944 the political philosopher and refugee, Hannah Arendt 'Everywhere the word 'exile' which once had an undertone of almost sacred awe, now provokes the idea of something simultaneously suspicious and unfortunate.' Today's refugee 'crisis' has its origins in the politicalDSand imaginativeDShistory of the last century. Exiles from other places have often caused trouble for ideas about sovereignty, law and nationhood. But the meanings of exile changed dramatically in the twentieth century. This book shows just how profoundly the calamity of statelessness shaped modern literature and thought. For writers such as Hannah Arendt, Franz Kafka, W.H. Auden, George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Simone Weil, among others, the outcasts of the twentieth century raised vital questions about sovereignty, humanism and the future of human rights. Placeless People argues that we urgently need to reconnect with the moral and political imagination of these first chroniclers of the placeless
condition.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

260 pages, Hardcover

Published December 25, 2018

Reviews

[Karina Szczurek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsettling but necessary reading in our current global crisis of 'rightlessness'.

[Catrinamaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking series of essays which woke me up to a fresh way of thinking about the rights of people who have become placeless. Shining a light on mid 20th century writers, Lyndsey Stonebridge reminded me of the importance of the act of writing in "placeless" settings. More than therapy it's a means to creating new worlds where the writer does have a place which can be shared with diverse audiences. More than anything, reading "Placeless People" reminded me I have so much more to read if I'm to give myself even half a chance of understanding this 21st century challenge.