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In theory: The Death of the Author
Kicking off a new occasional series about the most influential literary theory, Andrew Gallix revisits a classic essay by Roland BarthesEcclesiastes famously warns us that "Of making many books there...
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In theory: Mimetic desire
Nearly 50 years on, René Girard's theory remains a powerfully illuminating insight into both literature and the worldMany thanks for your insightful comments on "The Death of the Author" and...
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In theory: Towards a New Novel | Andrew Gallix
Alain Robbe-Grillet's provocative essays on creating new literature outside the 'dead rules' of the past resonate nowDavid Shields recently dismissed most contemporary novels as "antediluvian texts"...
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Hauntology: A not-so-new critical manifestation
The new vogue in literary theory is shot through with earlier ideasHauntology is probably the first major trend in critical theory to have flourished online. In October 2006, Mark Fisher - aka k-punk -...
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In theory: the death of literature
The fact that people have been proclaiming its passing for centuries only makes the sense of its ending more acute"We come too late to say anything which has not been said already," lamented La Bruyère...
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In theory: the unread and the unreadable
We measure our lives with unread books – and 'difficult' works can induce the most guilt. How should we view this challenge?There was a time when a learned fellow (literally, a Renaissance man) could...
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Oulipo: freeing literature by tightening its rules
By imposing multiple restrictions on the processes of writing, this group of French writers seek to find what literature might be, rather than what it isYou might think Raymond Queneau was guilty of a...
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The end of realist stories
The limitations of mimetic storytelling are ever more apparent, but what should come next is less clearLiterary fiction is dead – or if not dead then finished, according to the Goldsmiths...
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