In-between space and intertwined intercultural memories: the contemporary relevance of Silviano Santiago in Partes de África by Helder Macedo and Terra sonâmbula by Mia Couto

Abstract

This article examines the concept of the in-between space (entrelugar), formulated by Silviano Santiago, in dialogue with the notion of intertwined intercultural memories, inspired by Edward Said’s reflections, through a comparative reading of Parts of Africa (1991), by Helder Macedo, and Sleepwalking Land (1992), by Mia Couto. The study discusses Santiago’s pioneering contribution to the understanding of cultural translation, identity negotiation, and hybridity, formulated prior to concepts that later became widely disseminated in international postcolonial theory, such as Homi K. Bhabha’s in-between and Third Space. The analysis demonstrates that both novels construct border spaces in which intertwined intercultural memories constitute the temporal, affective, and historical dimension of the processes of intercultural negotiation inscribed within the in-between space. The article concludes that the articulation between these categories expands the interpretive possibilities of contemporary comparative studies in colonial and postcolonial literary productions in the Global South.