Beyond the content, narratives and storytelling; writing is intrinsically spatial – leaning on the possibilities of movement.

In her text, Laura Ruggeri reminds the reader of how alike space and language actually are. She reflects on the spatial power of writing and on the representational choices inscribed within text. The way we write about – or refer to – content is not random, casual, nor neutral. Literary devices situate arguments and shape meaning through systems of association, revealing writing as a complex mechanism of representation that exploits pre-established conceptions, social constructs and contextual inputs.

Text draws spatial configurations. It builds and constructs realities combining words, arranging constructs and periods. Figures of speech and literary devices operate compositionally as much as semantically. A chiasmus physically relies on the positioning of words on the page; alliteration plays with sound and the placement of letters, symmetry is deeply architectural and aesthetic in nature…

A metaphor – from the ancient Greek μετά (metá) + φέρω (phérō) – alludes to movement. Literally, it indicates that something is being carried towards something or someone else.

It shares the same verbal root with the name Berenice, meaning “she who brings victory” (νίκη). φέρω, with its sense of “to bear, to carry, to bring,” implies not only action, but also will. In this sense, a metaphor becomes an inherently physical and intentional act of intangible transfer, as well as a form of translation. It leads the reader from one point to another, establishing a relation. In doing so, the two terms become interconnected, and their descriptors partially interchangeable: what pertains to one, now may be attributed to the other. Its also a constructive gesture, as by forging an association between potentially unrelated elements, it sets off a re-drawing of reality, one that can extend to the city and the spaces we inhabit.

“Like honey bees, they act as a sort of cross-pollination agent, ensuring a constant exchange.”

Furthermore, it is a matter of guiding the reader. It generates images, it potentially constructs concepts, and might even articulate an argument. Metaphors operate through motion, but above all are about re-positioning and re-imagining: steering away from conventions and exploring new, unexpected readings.