Exploring Memory and Migration through the Fragmentary Form of Novella-in-Flash

It's my working hypothesis that the novella-in-flash form is uniquely placed to explore the fragmentary nature of migratory experience and memory. I will explore this through writing: 1) a novella-in-flash (20,000 words)

This will chart the lives of my maternal Dutch grandparents through WWII, post-war emigration to The East and West Indies and their return to The Netherlands in the late 1960s. It will encompass trauma and memory of war as well as the social impact of high volumes of movement. I will interview relatives and compatriots, read real-life accounts alongside fiction, and do archival research.

2) an accompanying textbook (40,000 words)

Despite its recent rise in popularity, very little critical attention has been paid to the novella-in-flash. As part of my creative work, I will write a handbook composed of the genre's key elements, with a particular focus on the isolated nature of the individual stories and how they are well-placed to reflect memory as well as the diasporic experience.

I will draw on my knowledge of writing flash fiction and the particular skillset needed to write each individual story. Through primary and secondary texts, I will research the ways in which these individual stories can be arranged to build a narrative arc. 3) a critical commentary (20,000 words)

The 21st century is experiencing an unstoppable rise in the volume of uprooted people - migrants, refugees, exiles, asylum seekers - and the only thing that unites our 'modern' lives is precisely their fragility, temporariness and vulnerability (Bauman, 2012). I aim to explore the emergent genre of novella-in-flash in relation to the diasporic experience in modernity.

Year 1 Engagement with primary and secondary sources Attend courses on advanced research skills Regain language fluency in Dutch and German Participate in flash fiction and novella-in-flash courses and festivals, i.e. Flash Fiction Festival Write first section of novella-in-flash (Time: 1940-1947, Place: Germany/The Netherlands)

Sketch novella-in-flash handbook chapters 1-12 Conduct interviews with historians, memoirists and compatriots regarding World War II Year 2 Identify and attend relevant conferences Submit journal articles based on current research Write second section of novella-in-flash (Time: 1947-1957, Place: Indonesia)

Write third section of novella-in-flash (Time: 1958-1967, Place: Aruba) Write handbook chapters: 1-6

Conduct interviews with historians, memoirists and compatriots regarding Indonesia and Aruba, relevant experiences under colonial rule and subsequent independence from The Kingdom of The Netherlands Outline critical commentary Year 3

Conduct interviews with historians, memoirists and compatriots regarding repatriation to The Netherlands in the late 1960s Write final section of novella-in-flash (Time: 1968-1970, Place: The Netherlands) Write handbook chapters 7-12 Extensive rewriting, editing and proofreading of the novella-in-flash and the handbook

Write critical commentary