Chapter 20 - What Is British Literature Now?

Summary

The parameters of British literature, much like the bonds of British unionism, are becoming increasingly mutable and open to renegotiation. As a multinational state, the United Kingdom is looking more like a disunited kingdom in the wake of independence referendums, withdrawal from supranational constellations and the emergence of post-pandemic nationalisms. Given such tumultuous geopolitical developments, not least the EU referendum result of 2016, the question of whether British literature is still capable of synthesising English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and wider transnational affiliations into a coherent whole becomes more urgent. Drawing on the diverse perspectives of major literary voices, this chapter will question the purpose and value of British literature in a divided cultural landscape and consider whether writers are anticipating the disintegration of the United Kingdom or seeking ways of reimagining a national structure of feeling.