Definition of Exile

I find it interesting that at the beginning of Brodsky's essay he lists a variety of different types of exiles that I would otherwise label with a different word, such as immigrant or asylum-seeker or refugee. This makes it difficult to come up with a definition of exile because at least through the political science and anthropology classes that I've done research for, there are specific definitions for each of those terms, but in literary terms, those institutionalized definitions aren't always relevant.

Also, after reading Ugresic's chapter, I find myself a bit conflicted on whether or not Yugoslavs and Yugoslavs writers who left Yugoslavia after the break-up can actually be considered exiles. She describes a "dissatisfaction" amongst an audience at an academic conference she spoke at because some members did not buy her story of exile when she had a Croatian passport and was allowed to return to her country. This is part of the chapter entitled "exiles are not like us" and says that an exile's experience is unique to them and no comparable to another's exile. But I'm not sure I'm satisfied with that explanation. I wish she had defended her decision to call herself an exile further.