Kevin Potter, "Poetics of the Migrant: Migrant Literature and the Politics of Motion" (Edinburgh UP, 2023)

Jun 6, 2025

Kevin Potter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, dives into the role of migrant literature as a transformative force in political thought and identity. He discusses 'kino poetics,' emphasizing movement over borders and statehood. Potter highlights the active contributions of migrants in shaping narratives and social dynamics, advocating for a rethinking of citizenship. The conversation explores how literature can reshape perceptions of identity and belonging, providing fresh insights into the complexities of migration and cultural politics.

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ANECDOTE

Kevin Potter's Academic Journey

Kevin Potter moved from the US to Europe in 2013 for graduate studies and has lived in Vienna since 2017.
His academic journey began with an interest in literature during high school in Florida.

INSIGHT

Broader Definition of Poetics

Poetics shapes what is visible and thinkable, extending beyond traditional literature into political propaganda.
Migrant literature acts as a counter-poetics challenging dominant nationalist narratives and concepts like borders and stability.

INSIGHT

Literature's Political Role

Literature is a form of discourse that interacts deeply with politics and power.
Migrant literature acts not just as representation but actively shapes our subjectivity and understanding.

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Since the 1980s, readers and scholars alike have celebrated migrant literature for not only depicting migration, but for inspiring reflections on class, race, gender, nations, and mobility. But, beyond depicting migration, is it possible for migrant literature to be a force of movement itself? Poetics of the Migrant: Migrant Literature and the Politics of Motion calls upon the philosophy of movement and a counter-history of migration to invent a theory and method for analysing migrant literature. The text uncovers patterns of movement that migrant texts enact and create – in other words, a movement-oriented poetics. Poetics of the Migrant understands movement as the defining force of human history; and the migrant is the primary figure of cultural and political transformation. Migrant literature makes it possible to transform how we process and interpret social history through social motion. Perhaps, from here, we can imagine a different world: one where movement and migrancy are legible and thinkable.

About Kevin Potter:

Kevin Potter is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of English & American Studies at the University of Vienna. His research and teaching primarily focus on Marxist theory, migrant literature, anarchist thought, dystopian fiction, and Palestine. His first book, Poetics of the Migrant was released in 2023 through Edinburgh University Press, and received honorable mention for the 2024 Hugh J. Silverman Prize from the Association for Philosophy and Literature.

About Pavan Mano:

Pavan Mano is Lecturer in Global Cultures in the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities at King's College London (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/p...). He works at the intersections of critical & literary theory, politics and culture. His first monograph, Straight Nation, interrogates postcolonial nationalism and the governance of sexuality in Singapore (https://manchesteruniversitypr...).

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