Abstract

SUAREZ GOMEZ, Jorge Eduardo. War in Colombia testimonial literature: between memory, culture, violence and literature. univ.humanist. [online]. 2011, n.72, pp.275-296. ISSN 0120-4807.

Colombia may be characterized as a society ruled over by " a routinization of war and oblivion". When memories about violent events succeed in articulate themselves and transcend the private space, they are not necessarily incorporated to national memory through " memory policies" in transitional processes. These memories are " deposited" rather than discussed. Testimonial literature is one of those " deposits". There are times when certain topics, witnesses, authors and narrative treatments attain an unexpected relevance. Such a relevance follows national factors, like the dynamics of conflict and society in Colombia and abroad, such as a " turn to past". When making a survey across the development of the testimonial genre from mid-20th century Violence up to our times, the gravitation of several cultures of memory is made evident in a society where oblivion appears to prevail.

Keywords : memoria; literatura; testimonios; Violence in Colombia; memory; literature; testimonials.

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