Traces of Resistance
a Flaneur project by Fabian Saul
Traces of Resistance is a fragmentary novel that draws lines between different stories of resistance connected by a single street in each chapter. Chapter by chapter, a fictional map evolves, in which the Kantstraße in Berlin is directly linked to the market of Tangier, the majestic Stadiou of Athens is just around the corner of the Majdan Square. The anecdote is not used here to support the canonical narrative, but develops its own narrative in which resistance (aesthetic, political, spatial, performative) becomes a universal humanistic engine that overcomes the mere local context.
The stories are collected, sorted and discussed together with local artists, activists and academics. Under the impression of a resurgent nationalism and facing a severe European crisis, Traces of Resistance is also the attempt of a multi-perspective European narrative. Streets, as spaces of collective memory, in London, Carlisle, Glasgow, Newry and Dublin tell of demarcations, their overcoming, independence and dependencies and, in particular, how to read the post-colonial and post-industrial heritage in urban space.
See below information to find out more about Fabian's journey and findings along the different legs of the project in Ireland and the UK.
is the editor-in-chief of Flaneur Magazine, a nomadic, multi-disciplinary and award-winning publication focusing on one street per issue. Since its inception, it has morphed into a collaborative cultural platform that redefines a street’s space-time continuum by embracing its complexity, its layers, and its fragmented nature through a literary approach.
Dublin & Newry:
His research trip brings Fabian Saul to Dublin and Newry. While visiting Dublin the author is interested in the O’Connell Street. Known for its monuments and sights the street frequently appears in literature as for example in James Joyce. The function of collective memory in the urban space is one of Saul's core aspects while focussing on activists in this area.
The border location of Newry generated many functions and effects on its small community. Widely known is the violent episode »The Troubles« between 1971 and 1994. During the financial crisis the city became a place of transnational shopping due to its location and in times of the Brexit the regional conflict reappears in terms of drawing up a border question.
London:
In London Fabian Saul will focus on a street in Hackney, a neighbourhood in East London heavily shaped by gentrification, particularly since the waves of post-war and late 20th century immigration and subsequent development. Hackney offers a plethora of stories of resistance which often coexist in contradictory parallelism.
Glasgow & Carlisle:
Jamaica Street highlights the connection between the post-industrial age with the postcolonial understanding. Fabian Saul aims to focus at local resistance movements in reflection to global interlacing. Particularly, the author is fascinated by Scottish independence efforts.
To emphasis in which ways cities beyond the metropolises generated resistance Saul chooses Carlisle. It embodies »the Great Border City« close to Scotland where the industrial age layers with medieval England and the new post-industrial search for identity.