ABSTRACT
In “Invisible Cities in Scandinavia – editorial journeys, migrant signs, and paratextual loops”, Hanne Jansen and Cecilia Schwartz analyse the fluctuating presence of Calvino’s work in the relatively homogeneous Scandinavian publishing field. This interrelationship between the Scandinavian publications is illustrated by a comparison of the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish editions and the presence of “migrant signs”, i.e. elements that circulate in the Scandinavian peritexts and epitexts, creating “paratextual loops”. The second part of the analysis examines the reception of Invisible Cities in the Swedish and Danish press over 50 years, disclosing ambiguous approaches that range from disregard to veneration, from invisibility to consecration. The tendency to exoticise Italian literature is absent in the paratexts of Invisible Cities, which is rather framed and received according to the logic of the “cosmopolitan reception”. The current status of Invisible Cities as a modern classic is manifested in its flourishing afterlife in Scandinavian literature and culture.
