Brexlit: Redefining Borders

This issue of Anglistica AION is devoted to literary and cultural responses to Brexit in Britain and Ireland. Conceiving Brexit as an ongoing cultural process rather than a concluded political event, the volume brings together essays that examine how contemporary fiction, theatre, satire, dystopia, and performance have engaged with the referendum and its aftermath. The contributions explore the ways in which Brexit has reshaped narratives of national identity, sovereignty, borders, and belonging, as well as its impact on social relations, collective memory, and political imagination. The volume addresses a wide range of textual forms and genres, including the Brexit novel, dystopian and speculative fiction, satire, and post-referendum theatre. Particular attention is given to representations of borders and exclusion, the reactivation of imperial and nationalist imaginaries, and the cultural implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland and the Irish border. Several essays focus on the ethical and affective dimensions of Brexit narratives, examining how literary and theatrical works register fragmentation, loss, resistance, and the possibility of alternative futures. Collectively, the contributions highlight the central role of writers, playwrights, and artists in documenting, interpreting, and contesting the cultural meanings of Brexit in a still-evolving political landscape.