Verbivoracious Festschrift 3: The Syllabus

G.N. Forester and M.J. Nicholls, ed.: Verbivoracious Festschrift Volume 3:
The Syllabus (2015)

I was a little surprised, last year, to be invited to contribute a piece to the above festschrift from Singapore-based alternative literature publisher Verbivoracious Press. They appear to specialise principally in the work of British writer Christine Brooke-Rose (1923-2012), many of whose books they have reprinted. The title of the above compilation, "The Syllabus," though, shows that they also aspire to represent a whole universe of experimental writing - what might be called (in Roger Horrocks' phrase) the Kingdom of Alt.



Adam Thirlwell: Miss Herbert: An Essay in Five Parts (2007)

The book Mark Nicholls wanted me to write about was Miss Herbert (2007), by British novelist Adam Thirlwell. The reason this surprised me was that he based the request on the blogpost I'd written about it, a piece which strikes me (in retrospect) as rather unkind - though I certainly don't subscribe there to any of the more ad hominem attacks Thirlwell's book received in the more up-themselves reviews.

We quickly rejected the idea of compiling an essay from the blog itself, and instead I decided to take the licence he offered to compose a more "creative" piece taking off from Thirlwell's book (which rejoices in a number of titles in America and Britain, my favourite being the one on the spine of the paperback edition: Miss Herbert: A book of novels, romances, and their translators, containing ten languages, set on four continents, and accompanied by maps, portraits, squiggles and illustrations ...

Each contributor was limited to 500 words, and it must have been a devil of a job to assemble them all, since it was only last week that I was at last alerted to the appearance of the compilation:

A monument to our insatiable verbivoracity, The Syllabus is an act of humble genuflection before the authors responsible for those texts which have transported us to the peak of readerly nirvana and back. The texts featured, chosen in a rapturous frenzy by editors and contributors alike, represent a broad sweep of the most important exploratory fiction written in the last hundred years (and beyond). Featuring 100 texts from (fewer than) 100 contributors, The Syllabus is a form of religious creed, and should be read primarily as a holy manual from which the reader draws inspiration and hope, helping to shape their intellectual and moral life with greater awareness, and lead them towards those works that offer deep spiritual succour while surviving on a merciless and unkind planet. Readers of this festschrift should expect nothing less than an incontrovertible conversion from reader to insatiable verbivore in 225 pages.

“The Syllabus, as a third volume of Verbivoracious Festschrift, is a celebration of reading. It’s a great literary feast for the true readers, for all the verbivores around the world, a feast consisting of hundred delicious meals. I am honored to be a part of that unforgettable menu.” — Dubravka Ugrešić.

And what exactly is in it? Here's a list of the contents, arranged (as you can see) in chronological order:
Introduction or, The Art of SillybusteringThe EditorsJonathan Swift — A Modest Proposal [1729]Scott BeauchampLaurence Sterne — The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy [1759]Silvia BarlaamXiao Hong (萧红) — The Field of Life and Death [1935] Wee Teck LimLouis-Ferdinand Céline — Death on the Installment Plan [1936]Paul John AdamsRayner Heppenstall — The Blaze of Noon [1939]Juliet JacquesJames Joyce — Finnegans Wake [1939]Fionnuala Nic MheanmánFlann O’Brien — At Swim-Two-Birds [1939]Edwin TurnerRaymond Queneau — Exercises in Style [1947]Geoff WiltBoris Vian — Foam of the Daze [1947]Tosh BermanDouglas Woolf — The Hypocritic Days [1955]Ammiel AlcalayHenry Miller — Quiet Days in Clichy [1956]G.N. ForesterMuriel Spark — The Comforters [1957]Kim FayAlexander Trocchi — Cain’s Book [1960]Gill TaskerMichel Butor — Mobile [1962]John TrefryRobert Pinget — The Inquisitory [1962]???B.S. Johnson — Omnibus [1964-1971]Nicolas TredellRaymond Queneau — The Blue Flowers [1965]Inez HedgesAlan Burns — Celebrations [1967]Joseph Andrew DarlingtonGuillermo Cabrera Infante — Three Trapped Tigers [1967]Pablo MedinaMacedonia Fernández — The Museum of Eterna’s Novel [1967]Steve PenkevichAnna Kavan — Ice [1967]Kristine RabbermanJ.M.G Le Clézio — Terra Amata [1967]Keith MoserFlann O’Brien — The Third Policeman [1967]Alex JohnstonIshmael Reed — The Freelance Pallbearers [1967]Joseph McGrathChristine Brooke-Rose — Between [1968]Katarzyna BartoszyńskaAnthony Earnshaw & Eric Thacker — Musrum [1968]Kenneth CoxNicholas Mosley — Impossible Object [1968]Shiva RahbaranVladimir Nabokov — Ada or Ardor [1969]Rob FrielJ.G. Ballard — The Atrocity Exhibition [1970]Rick McGrathPierre Guyotat — Eden Eden Eden [1970]Peter BlundellRaymond Federman — Double or Nothing [1971]Lance OlsenHubert Selby Jnr. — The Room [1971]Georgina HollandStanley Crawford — Log of the S.S. the Mrs Unguentine [1972]Stephen SparksTom Mallin — Erowina [1972]Nate DorrAnn Quin — Tripticks [1972]Francis BoothGuy Davenport — Taitlin! [1974]Eric ByrdLawrence Durrell — The Avignon Quintet [1974-1985]Nadine MainardChrisine Brooke-Rose — Thru [1975]David DetrichGeorges Perec — An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris [1975]Lauren ElkinFernando del Paso — Palinuro of Mexico [1976]Ignacio M. Sánchez PradoColeman Dowell — Island People [1976]Eugene H. HayworthRaymond Federman — Take It or Leave It [1976]Steve KatzItalo Calvino — If on a winter’s night a traveller [1979]Silvia BarlaamGilbert Sorrentino — Mulligan Stew [1979]M.J. NichollsRoald Dahl — The Twits [1980]Harold LadDonald Barthelme — Sixty Stories [1981]Lee KleinAlexander Theroux — Darconville’s Cat [1981]Steven MooreCamilo José Cela — Mrs. Caldwell Speaks to Her Son [1982]Rosalyn DrexlerD. Keith Mano — Take Five [1982]Nathan GaddisThomas Bernhard — Woodcutters [1984]AnonymousChristine Brooke-Rose — Amalgamemnon [1984]Ellen G. FriedmanRikki Ducornet — The Stain [1984]Michelle Ryan-SautourChristoph Meckel — The Figure on the Boundary Line [1984]Ben WinchMilorad Pavić — Dictionary of the Khazars (Male Edition) [1984]Alec Nevala-LeeMilorad Pavić — Dictionary of the Khazars (Female Edition) [1984]Silvia BarlaamDon Delillo — White Noise [1985]Barbara MelvilleGilbert Sorrentino — Pack of Lies Trilogy [1985-1989]Dick WitherspoonRonald Sukenick — In Form: Digressions on the Act of Fiction [1985]Tom WillardMarcel Bénabou — Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books [1986]A. WriterMichael Westlake — Imaginary Women [1987]Michael WestlakeNicholson Baker — The Mezzanine [1988]M.J. NichollsItalo Calvino — Six Memos for the Next Millennium [1988]Daniel Levin BeckerDavid Markson — Wittgenstein’s Mistress [1988]Christopher WunderLeeJanice Galloway — The Trick is to Keep Breathing [1989]Gillian DevineJacques Roubaud — The Great Fire of London [1989]Ian MonkFelipe Alfau — Chromos [1990]Sam MossRobert Alan Jamieson — A Day at the Office [1991]Rodge GlassAlasdair Gray — Poor Things [1992]Rodge GlassW.G. Sebald — The Emigrants [1992]Peter BebergalWilliam Gaddis — A Frolic of His Own [1994]Christopher WunderLeeJáchym Topol — City Sister Silver [1994]Alex ZuckerMartin Amis — The Information [1995]Anthony VaccaWilliam H. Gass — The Tunnel [1995]H.L. HixGilbert Sorrentino — Red the Fiend [1995]Jenny OffillRoberto Bolaño — Nazi Literature in the Americas [1996]Adrian CarneyGeoff Dyer — Out of Sheer Rage [1997]Kathleen HeilAlasdair Brotchie & Harry Mathews (eds.) — Oulipo Compendium [1998]Jason GraffDubravka Ugrešić — The Museum of Unconditional Surrender [1998]Jasmina LukićPercival Everett — Glyph [1999]Tom ConoboyAli Smith — Other Stories and Other Stories [1999]M.J. NichollsIgnácio de Loloya Brandão — Anonymous Celebrity [2002]Ricki AklonCurtis White — Requiem [2002]Trevor DodgeLucy Ellmann — Dot in the Universe [2003]Ali MillarDubravka Ugrešić — Thank You for Not Reading [2003]Ana StanojevicRoberto Bolaño — 2666 [2004]Alex CoxMeredith Brosnan — Mr. Dynamite [2004]Jarleth L. PrendergastDavid Mitchell — Cloud Atlas [2004]Stephen MirabitoSteve Katz — Antonello’s Lion [2005]W.C. BambergerGraham Rawle — Woman’s World [2005]Michael LeongGilbert Adair — The Evadne Mount Trilogy [2006-2009]Manny RaynerNicola Barker — Darkmans [2007]Kinga BurgerLydia Davis — Varieties of Disturbance [2007]Ali MillarLydie Salvayre — Portrait of the Writer as a Domesticated Animal [2007]Juliet JacquesAdam Thirwell — Miss Herbert [2007]Jack RossUrmuz — Collected Works [2007]Eddie WatkinsMarilyn Chin — Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen [2009]Melanie HoGabriel Josipovici — Only Joking [2010]Gianni DaneSteven Moore — The Novel: An Alternative History [2010-2013]Nathan GaddisWill Self — Walking to Hollywood [2010]Richard StrachanCharles Newman — In Partial Disgrace [2013]Eric LundgrenThe Influences of OthersIgo Wodan
What, no Raymond Roussel, you say? No this person, no that? Instead of such carping, let's just celebrate all the weird and wonderful texts they have managed to include in their roll-call of 100+:

Texts:

A Modest Proposal — The Avignon Quintet — The Comforters — Finnegans Wake — In Partial Disgrace — Impossible Object — Wittgenstein’s Mistress — The Freelance Pallbearers — Foam of the Daze — Between — Darconville’s Cat — Thru — Terra Amata — Poor Things — Pack of Lies — Amalgamemnon — Anonymous Celebrity — The Stain — Palinuro of Mexico — Miss Herbert — Tristram Shandy — The Mezzanine — White Noise — Glyph — The Twits — Woodcutters — Erowina — Chromos — A Day at the Office — Darkmans — The Evadne Mount Trilogy — Mobile — An Attempt to Exhaust a Place in Paris — The Trick is to Keep Breathing — The Great Fire of London — Thank You For Not Reading — Exercises in Style — Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books — B.S. Johnson Omnibus — Six Memos for the Next Millennium — Sixty Stories — Requiem — Mrs Caldwell Speaks to Her Son — The Atrocity Exhibition — Walking to Hollywood — At Swim-Two-Birds — The Death of the Author — Dot in the Universe — Eco: On Literature — Dictionary of the Khazars — The Novel: An Alternate History — Varieties of Disturbance — Mr. Dynamite — The Blue Flowers — Portrait of the Artist as a Domesticated Animal  — The Tunnel — Oulipo Compendium — In Form: Digressions in the Art of Fiction — Take it or Leave it — If on a winter’s night a traveller — The Information — Double or Nothing — The Hypocritic Days — Berg — 2666 — The Inquisitory — Woman’s World — Museum of Eterna’s Novel — The Blaze of Noon — Musrum — Island People — Take Five — Death on Credit — Three Trapped Tigers — Cain’s Book — Invisible Cities — Out of Sheer Rage — Log of the S.S. Mrs Unguentine — The Room — Revenge of the Moon Vixen — Mulligan Stew — Ice — Red the Fiend — Urmuz: Complete Works — Ada — Taitlin! — Celebrations — The Figure on the Boundary Line — City Silver Sister — Nazi Literature in the Americas — The Emigrants — Other Stories and Other Stories — The Third Policeman — Antonello’s Lion — Cloud Atlas — Imaginary Women — The Museum of Unconditional Surrender — Eden Eden Eden — Quiet Days in Clichy


Contributors:

Scott Beauchamp — Kim Fay — Igo Wodan — Fionnuala McManamon — Eric Lundgren — Shiva Rahbaran — Joseph McGrath — Tosh Berman — Katarzyna Bartoszyńska — David Detrich — Ellen Friedman — Steven Moore — Keith Moser — Rodge Glass — Michelle Ryan-Santour — Jack Ross — Silvia Barlaam — Tom Conoboy — Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado — M.J. Nicholls — Barbara Melville — Nate Dorr — Sam Moss — Kinga Burger — Manny Rayner — John Trefry — Lauren Elkin — Gillian Devine —Ian Monk — Peter Blundell — Ana Stanojevic — Geoff Wilt — Nicolas Tredell — Daniel Levin Becker — Lee Klein — Lance Olsen — Trevor Dodge — Rosalyn Drexler — Rick McGrath — Richard Strachan — Edwin Turner — Ali Millar — Alec Nevala-Lee — Nathan Gaddis — Alberta Rigid — Jarleth L. Prenderghast —Inez Hedges — Juliet Jacques — H.L. Hix — Jason Graff — Tom Willard — Steve Katz — Anthony Vacca — Ammiel Almacay — Lee Rourke — Alex Cox — Michael Leong — Eric Byrd — Steve Penkevich — Kenneth Cox — Gene Hayworth — Paul John Adams — Pablo Medina — Gill Tasker — Kathleen Heil — Georgina Holland — Stephen Sparks — Anonymous — Melanie Ho — Jenny Offill — Kristine Rabberman — Eddie Watkins — Rob Friel — Joseph Andrew Darlington — Alex Zucker — Ben Winch — Alex Johnston — W.C. Bamberger — Stephen Mirabito — Michael Westlake — Peter Bebergal — Jasmina Lukić — Nadine Mainard — G.N. Forester

Here are the publication details:

Release Date:

May 11th, 2015. ISBN: 9789810935931. 237pp.

Pricing Information:

Paperback: GBP9.99 + postage GBP2.00 within UK, US, AU, CAN, EU, ZA, NZ, IN and SG.

Available from:

all booksellers and usual online retailers, or the Verbivoracious website at sales@verbivoraciouspress.org

I've got a good mind to use it precisely as they suggest: as a syllabus for the new course in "Advanced Fiction" I'm planning (to commence at Massey Albany in 2017). Maybe that's a bit cheeky, but it'll certainly be listing it as a recommended text for the students.

Go on, then, test yourself. Just how many of the above books have you actually read? How many have you even heard of, for that matter? Not even Richard Taylor would score 100% on that one, I suspect. Scott Hamilton, perhaps?



Jack Ross: Kingdom of Alt (2010)