Sarah K. Harrison completed a PhD in English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

Focusing on work by Patrick Chamoiseau, Chris Abani, Dinaw Mengestu, Suketu Mehta and Vik Muniz, Waste Matters argues that contemporary literature and film offer an insightful and timely response to these questions through their formal and thematic revaluation of 'urban waste', both physical and metaphorical.

1. Introduction: Locating Urban Waste 2. 'Anything could turn out to be something': Gleaning Slum History in Patrick Chamoiseau's Texaco 3. 'Suspended City': Personal, Urban and National Development in Chris Abani's Graceland 4. 'A New Heightened Sense of Place': Dinaw Mengestu's Cognitive Map of Washington, D.C. 5. Seeing the Obvious? Contradictory Visibilities in Indian City Literature 6. Spectacular Trash: Contemporary Remediations of Global Urban Waste