The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme
This essay seeks to address a distinct lacuna in criticism regarding the American author Donald Barthelme, one comprised of two dimensions. First, there is a scarcity of analysis of fragments in works apart from Snow White. Second, almost no attention has been paid to the formal intricacies of Barth...
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European Association for American Studies
2018-08-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12867 |
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| author | Surya Bowyer |
| author_facet | Surya Bowyer |
| author_sort | Surya Bowyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay seeks to address a distinct lacuna in criticism regarding the American author Donald Barthelme, one comprised of two dimensions. First, there is a scarcity of analysis of fragments in works apart from Snow White. Second, almost no attention has been paid to the formal intricacies of Barthelme’s fragments, nor to why their visible aspects might be significant. Arguing that Barthelme is an unusually visually-minded writer, this essay examines the use of fragments in a range of his short stories. A Saussurean framework is used to argue that Barthelme’s writing demands we shift the act of reading away from its diachronic conventions and towards a synchronic approach. I analyze such apparently unremarkable textual aspects as dashes, hyphens, and lists, showing that they are used by Barthelme in a way that demands a visual mode of reading. In questioning the significance of causality, this mode of reading has wider implications insofar as it challenges the typical view that the short story should be approached as a form that is driven by narrative. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d7952efbe2bf47a8875b56fbd95d8894 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-d7952efbe2bf47a8875b56fbd95d88942025-01-06T09:09:25ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362018-08-0113210.4000/ejas.12867The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald BarthelmeSurya BowyerThis essay seeks to address a distinct lacuna in criticism regarding the American author Donald Barthelme, one comprised of two dimensions. First, there is a scarcity of analysis of fragments in works apart from Snow White. Second, almost no attention has been paid to the formal intricacies of Barthelme’s fragments, nor to why their visible aspects might be significant. Arguing that Barthelme is an unusually visually-minded writer, this essay examines the use of fragments in a range of his short stories. A Saussurean framework is used to argue that Barthelme’s writing demands we shift the act of reading away from its diachronic conventions and towards a synchronic approach. I analyze such apparently unremarkable textual aspects as dashes, hyphens, and lists, showing that they are used by Barthelme in a way that demands a visual mode of reading. In questioning the significance of causality, this mode of reading has wider implications insofar as it challenges the typical view that the short story should be approached as a form that is driven by narrative.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12867readingDonald Barthelmeformvisualvisiblesynchrony |
| spellingShingle | Surya Bowyer The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme European Journal of American Studies reading Donald Barthelme form visual visible synchrony |
| title | The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme |
| title_full | The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme |
| title_fullStr | The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme |
| title_short | The Visible Aspect of Things: Towards a Synchronic Reading of Donald Barthelme |
| title_sort | visible aspect of things towards a synchronic reading of donald barthelme |
| topic | reading Donald Barthelme form visual visible synchrony |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/12867 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT suryabowyer thevisibleaspectofthingstowardsasynchronicreadingofdonaldbarthelme AT suryabowyer visibleaspectofthingstowardsasynchronicreadingofdonaldbarthelme |