The idea of crossroads opens up the idea of horizons pregnant with hope and reviviscence. It points toward the possibility of a life that is dynamic and not solely defined by inflicted wounds and forced separations. Conceptualizing and...
moreThe idea of crossroads opens up the idea of horizons pregnant with hope and reviviscence. It points toward the possibility of a life that is dynamic and not
solely defined by inflicted wounds and forced separations. Conceptualizing and firmly believing in crossroads as a metaphor for thinking and for nostalgia is not easy. Undertaking this difficult task, however, opens up possibilities to move from painful memories into action, to refuse the unacceptable, and to counter discourses arguing that the ancient (the past, the ever-present immemorial) has been erased or does not matter. Different directions, points of departures, and possible routes indeed emerge when observing crossroads.
This article draws and reflects on the fertility of the notion of crossroads that Alexis Wright explores in Croire en l’incroyable (Believe in the Unbelievable, 2000), an essay—translated by Sabine Porte—which thus far has been published only in French, in book format. It was commissioned by Marc de Gouvenain, the founder and then editor of the Antipodes Collection at Actes Sud, a major publishing house in France. This article uses the notion as an entry point to shed light on the poetic and thematic connections between Croire en l’incroyable and Le Pacte du serpent arc-en-ciel, a collection of short stories by Wright—translated by Sylvie Kandé and Marc de Gouvenain—also published by Actes Sud in 2002.
