With the blow of metaphors in the discursive front. Isaac Rosa’s foreword (2002-2021)

Abstract

In this article we analyse the thirty-four forewords written by Isaac Rosa between 2008-2021. Neglected until now, this production accompanies an unusual variety of texts. The first part of this article focuses on the authorship of the books establishing a typology and chronology of these texts. In the second part, we try to give to this fragmented corpus a sense of the whole, by revealing a dense fabric of critical writing and uncovering a new facet of Rosa’s work. In line with the author’s narrative production, the corpus can be articulated around two thematic axes: on the one hand, historical memory and, on the other hand, economy and neoliberalism. Both axes are usually subsumed under the label ‘literature and politics’. However, we think that, considering the emphasis the writer-turned-critic puts on historical sequences and enunciative frameworks, this paradigm should be updated to speak of ‘literature and democracy’.