The Idea of Literature surveys a variety of topics related to the appreciation of literature. It collects writing (revised and expanded) that originally appeared on The Reading Experience. (More information)
Among the topics considered: The Experience of Reading/ Literary Style/ "Saying Something"/ The Study of Literature
A survey of the trends in current experimental fiction through an analysis of selected writers and works. (More information)
Among the writers considered: David Foster Wallace/ Gary Lutz/ John Keene/ Shelley Jackson
A survey of innovative fiction by contemporary women writers. (More information)
Among the writers considered: Rikki Ducornet/Aimee Bender/Helen DeWitt/Noy Holland
What was postmodernism? Essays on important American postmodern writers. (More information)
Among the writers considered: Thomas Pynchon/ William Gass/ Donald Barthelme/ Ishmael Reed
A study of the "black humor" movement in American fiction. (More information)
Among the writers considered: Joseph Heller/ Kurt Vonnegut/ James Purdy/ Terry Southern
Essays on the current state of general-interest literary criticism. (More information)
Contents include: Book Reviewing in America/Going Negative/Justifying Criticism/Criticism in Cyberspace
A study of the novels by the neglected American writer James Purdy. (More information)
From Cow Eye Press:
Beyond the Blurb: On Critics and Criticism