Death of the Emissary: Language, Metonymy, and European Complicity in Juan Diego Botto’s “La carta”

Authors

Jeffrey K. Coleman, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Taylor & Francis (Routledge)

Source Publication

Symposium

Source ISSN

0039-7709

Abstract

Juan Diego Botto’s 2005 monologue “La carta” explores the real-life death of Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara, two Guinean boys who in 1999 died attempting to reach Europe with a letter addressed to European officials. A close reading of Botto’s monologue illustrates how the letter by Yaguine and Fodé functions as an archive that explores and redefines the liminal spaces, and therefore the relationship, between Europe and Africa. The monologue and the letter elucidate the boys’ position as emissaries who seek to reconcile the European continent with its complicity in the state of Africa.

Comments

Accepted version. Symposium, Vol. 72, No. 3 (2018): 123-137. DOI. © 2018 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Coleman, Jeffrey K., "Death of the Emissary: Language, Metonymy, and European Complicity in Juan Diego Botto’s “La carta”" (2018). Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications. 84.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/span_fac/84