Ways of Re-thinking Literature

Ways of Re-Thinking Literature creates a unique platform where leading literary thinkers and practitioners provide a multiplicity of views into what literature is today.

The texts gathered in this extraordinary collection range from philosophy to poetry, to theatre, to cognitive sciences, to art criticism, fiction, and their authors rank amongst the most significant figures in their fields, in France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Topics covered include an assessment of the role of literary narratives in contemporary writing; new considerations on the novel; a redefinition of the "poetic" factor in poetry and life; and a discussion of how literature engages with contemporary forms of individuality.

Under the auspices of literary luminaries Hélène Cixous and the late John Ashbery, these new pieces of writing bring to light contributions by innovative and well-established authors from the English-speaking sphere, as well as never-before-translated prominent new voices in French theory.

Featuring original work from some of today’s most influential authors, Ways of Re-Thinking Literature is an indispensable tool for anybody interested in the future and possibilities of literature as an endeavour for life, thought, and creativity.

With special cover artwork by Rita Ackermann, the volume includes contributions from Emily Apter, Philippe Artières, John Ashbery, Paul Audi, Dodie Bellamy, Tom Bishop, Hélène Cixous, Laurent Dubreuil, Tristan Garcia, Donatien Grau, Stathis Gourgouris, Boris Groys, Shelley Jackson, Wayne Koestenbaum, Camille Laurens, Vanessa Place, Maël Renouard, Peter Schjeldahl, Adam Thirwell, and Camille de Toledo.

Tom Bishop is the Florence Lacaze Gould Professor of French, Professor of French and Comparative Literature at New York University, USA. For fifty years, he served as Chair of the department of French at NYU and Director of the Center for French Civilization and Culture. Amongst his many publications: From the Left Bank: Reflections on the Modern French Theater and Novel (New York University Press, 1997); Pirandello and the French Theater (New York University, 1960, 1970).

Donatien Grau is a Guest Curator at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA. He holds a doctorat in French and comparative literature from the Sorbonne, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He was twice a Guest Resarch Researcher at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; a Florence Gould Lecturer, New York University; a Special Guest of French Studies, Cornell University; a Visiting Scholar, Stevanonich Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago; a teaching fellow, Sorbonne and Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France.