21st Century Literature discussion
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How Familiar Are You With Literary Theory & Does It Impact Your Reading In Any Way? (9/8/19)
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Vic, I know what you mean. Being a creative person gives you insights that supplement theoretical analysis, and probably vice versa. Great discussion.
Whitney wrote: "Vic wrote: "I remember one critic saying of Flannery O'Connor's fiction, "If she knew what she was actually doing in her fiction, she'd be terrified." That was his perception, but certainly not Fla..."Yeah, I agree with Whitney. Flannery O'Connor's medieval view of life was totally informed and deliberate. I tend to read her against her intention, but I don't question her intention.
James E. wrote: "I can use that theory to discover insights about the story's meaning... ...""meaning" -- to whom? (And I am not being flippant -- at least not muchly. I come to reading the techie route, not the lit major one.)
Mod
I like this angle of "theories of reception." How do readers interpret or make sense of a book? And what happens to that reading/reception experience when we begin to hyper-analyze it? Is there a point where we've destroyed the "mystery" or the "magic" (my words, but using James's idea)? This seems like a purely individual thing--some find the analysis, dissection, and critique adds even more value and understanding to their reception of writing, some find it destroys or undoes their enjoyment of reading, and most of us probably fall somewhere in the middle of these two poles.
[I'm tempted to post something to irk Whitney just so she'll ride in on her horse again... makes the thread feel like a Fellini film. :D ]
Marc wrote: "You never read anything obligatory (say, a gifted book from someone close to you, a group read, something for work/education), Clarke? Granted, I still persist too long with books I should have aba..." Yeah, I did once read a book given to me as a Xmas present by a relative, even though I was not enthusiastic about it. It was a non-fiction book on a legal subject (I'm a lawyer), so I was able to find a certain amount of interest in it. I have another book on my shelf which was given to me as a gift about 20 years ago, & still haven't gotten around to it. Obligatory reads means job, and there is usually a certain type of strategic interest there. But "boring" and "off-putting" I really can't tolerate. There is so much of great interest to read, and we are mortal creatures, it's a crime to bore oneself.
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Lily, "meaning" with a small "m". There may be a range of more or less plausible interpretations of a given work of lit but ever since the decline of New Criticism, most readers are wary of declaring any one reading to be "authoritative".
21st Century Literature
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If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler (other topics)
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Native American Fiction: A User's Manual (other topics)
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Your Poe example is excellent and to the point. You are probably also right about the conflating, James; in fact it might be even worse--a complete melt down--because I've been a university English professor since 1988, but I am also a writer and artist. I'm probably a person who shouldn't even try to figure these theoretical issues out because I can't get distance. When I write a scholarly article that is one experience. When I write a fictional work and a year or two later realize what my unconscious mind was constructing with recurring images, etc., that's another experience. And when I create a drawing or painting, that's another.