This volume of essays would like to celebrate the role played by writers and other artists in initiating the kind of intercultural conversations necessary to transcend the political, geographical and cultural borders erected in the name of nationalism. The collection is based on a conference held on the theme in April 2024. I have a contract with a publisher and am looking for a final few essays to complete the collection.

Travelling to other countries and engaging with other cultures has always been a source of inspiration for writers, artists, historians and critical thinkers. Many travellers consciously seek to absorb alternative traditions in order to enrich their own imaginations and narrative voices. Wolfgang Welsch uses the term “transculturality” to suggest the complex interconnections that result from this willingness to absorb other cultures, with writers not simply juggling different identities, but creatively mixing them together to form new, hybridized and polyvalent perspectives. Gloria Anzalduá’s definition of the mestiza as one who embraces multiplicity, transcending boundaries and developing a “wild tongue”, links the crossing of borders with the development of a new language, which can challenge hegemonic ideas about national, racial, gender and sexual identities. This collection of essays aims to assess a range of literary, artistic and other cultural practitioners that seek to engage other voices in intercultural exchanges. These practitioners deliberately set aside their own traditions and ideas in order to look through the eyes of other cultures, developing innovative strategies and perspectives in the process.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

· Writers/artists/thinkers who consider themselves to have dual identities

· Writers/artists/thinkers who travel widely and infuse their work with the ideas and influences they encounter

· Writers/artists/thinkers who acknowledge the influence of other cultures on their work

· Writers/artists/thinkers who translate the work of other writers

· Writers/artists/thinkers who seek to engage other writers in intercultural exchanges

· Writers/artists/thinkers who look through the eyes of other cultures in order to develop new perspectives on their own countries

Esaays (5-6,000 words) should be submitted to Dr Aoileann Ní Éigeartaigh aoileann.nieigeartaigh@dkit.ie by 15th September, 2024. Any queries can be sent to the same address.