“Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer”
This article performs a close reading of the essay “Swimmer,” written by the Jamaican American novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn and published in the anthology The Good Immigrant USA: 26 Writers Reflect on America (2019). On the one hand, “Swimmer” endorses the myths of the self-made man and the American...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bucharest
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Intersections |
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| Online Access: | https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4.-TP-final.pdf |
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| author | Teresa Pereira |
| author_facet | Teresa Pereira |
| author_sort | Teresa Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article performs a close reading of the essay “Swimmer,” written by the Jamaican American novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn and published in the anthology The Good Immigrant USA: 26 Writers Reflect on America (2019). On the one hand, “Swimmer” endorses the myths of the self-made man and the American dream by describing the remarkable achievements of its author, regardless of all the obstacles in her way. On the other hand, though, it questions the American success mythology by shedding light on the hardships faced by migrants. As a result, this article considers the following research questions: “Does Nicole Dennis-Benn’s ‘Swimmer’ both legitimize and challenge the myth of the self-made man and, by extension, the myth of the American dream?” and, if so, “In which way are the myths of the self-made man and of the American dream simultaneously celebrated and questioned in ‘Swimmer’?”. To do so, this analysis adopts an approach located within the field of cultural studies, embracing its interdisciplinary nature and combining literary studies with American and Jamaican history and culture, while departing from Heike Paul’s problematization of American myths in The Myths that Made America: An Introduction to American Studies (2014).
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b90538abfeec4b15bcf4b2306db47475 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2068-3472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Bucharest |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Intersections |
| spelling | doaj-art-b90538abfeec4b15bcf4b2306db474752025-08-20T02:56:55ZengUniversity of BucharestIntersections2068-34722024-12-01273849doi:10.31178/INTER.13.27.4 “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer”Teresa Pereira0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2035-1775Nova University of LisbonThis article performs a close reading of the essay “Swimmer,” written by the Jamaican American novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn and published in the anthology The Good Immigrant USA: 26 Writers Reflect on America (2019). On the one hand, “Swimmer” endorses the myths of the self-made man and the American dream by describing the remarkable achievements of its author, regardless of all the obstacles in her way. On the other hand, though, it questions the American success mythology by shedding light on the hardships faced by migrants. As a result, this article considers the following research questions: “Does Nicole Dennis-Benn’s ‘Swimmer’ both legitimize and challenge the myth of the self-made man and, by extension, the myth of the American dream?” and, if so, “In which way are the myths of the self-made man and of the American dream simultaneously celebrated and questioned in ‘Swimmer’?”. To do so, this analysis adopts an approach located within the field of cultural studies, embracing its interdisciplinary nature and combining literary studies with American and Jamaican history and culture, while departing from Heike Paul’s problematization of American myths in The Myths that Made America: An Introduction to American Studies (2014). https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4.-TP-final.pdfmythself-made manamerican dreamdisplacementmigrantlgbtq+ |
| spellingShingle | Teresa Pereira “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” Intersections myth self-made man american dream displacement migrant lgbtq+ |
| title | “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” |
| title_full | “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” |
| title_fullStr | “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” |
| title_short | “Jus’ hol’ yuh breath an’ kick”: Queer Self-Made Womanhood in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s “Swimmer” |
| title_sort | jus hol yuh breath an kick queer self made womanhood in nicole dennis benn s swimmer |
| topic | myth self-made man american dream displacement migrant lgbtq+ |
| url | https://intersections-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4.-TP-final.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT teresapereira jusholyuhbreathankickqueerselfmadewomanhoodinnicoledennisbennsswimmer |