E-Book Overview
For better or worse, America lives in the age of “worlded” literature. Not the world literature of nations and nationalities considered from most powerful and wealthy to the least. And not the world literature found with a map. Rather, the worlded literature of individuals crossing borders, mixing stories, and speaking in dialect. Where translation struggles to be effective and background is itself another story. The “worlded” literature of the multinational corporate publishing industry where the global market is all. The essays in this collection, from some of the most distinguished figures in American studies and literature, explore what it means to consider American literature as world literature.
E-Book Content
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American Literature as World Literature
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Literatures as World Literature Literatures as World Literature takes a novel approach to world literature by analyzing specific constellations—according to language, nation, form, or theme—of literary texts and authors in their world-literary dimensions. World literature has been mapped and theorized in the abstract, but the majority of critical work, the filling in of what has been traced, lies ahead of us. Literatures as World Literature begins the task of filling in the devilish details by allowing scholars to move outward from their own area of specialization. The hope is to foster scholarly writing that approaches more closely the polyphonic, multiperspectival nature of the world literature we wish to explore. Series Editor: Thomas O. Beebee Editorial Board: Eduardo Coutinho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Hsinya Huang, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan Meg Samuelson, University of Cape Town, South Africa Ken Seigneurie, Simon Fraser University, Canada Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, Aarhus University, Denmark Volumes in the Series German Literature as World Literature Edited by Thomas Beebee Roberto Bolaño as World Literature Edited by Nicholas Birns and Juan E. De Castro Crime Fiction as World Literature Edited by David Damrosch, Theo D’haen, and Louise Nilsson Danish Literature as World Literature Edited by Dan Ringgaard and Mads Rosendahl Thomsen From Paris to Tlön: Surrealism as World Literature By Delia Ungureanu American Literature as World Literature Edited by Jeffrey R. Di Leo Romanian Literature as World Literature Edited by Mircea Martin, Christian Moraru, and Andrei Terian Brazilian Literature as World Literature (forthcoming) By Eduardo F. Coutinho Modern Indian Literature as World Literature (forthcoming) By Bhavya Tiwari
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American Literature as World Literature Edited by Jeffrey R. Di Leo
Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
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Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc 1385 Broadway New York NY 10018 USA
50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP UK
www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2018 © Jeffrey R. Di Leo and Contributors, 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the editor. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Di Leo, Jeffrey R., editor. Title: American literature as world literature / edited by Jeffrey R. Di Leo. Description: New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2017. | Series: Literatures as world literature | Includes bibliographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2017025448 (prin