The Alexievich method

Abstract

Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich is undoubtedly a giant of testimonial literature, except ‘testimonial literature’ is not quite the right term to account for what Alexievich does. No term is quite right in fact. People’s history? Collective history? Collective novel? Documentary prose? Novel-oratorio? Novel-evidence? Living document? In this paper I will explore Alexievich’s method with a particular focus on the way she writes about individual and collective trauma. What are some of the ramifications of her singular, unclassifiable approach to the ongoing conversations about writing trauma?