Using manuscript analysis, textual evidence and author interviews, Kukkonen shows how a complex interplay between authorial intention, authors’ writing practices and their responsiveness to the materiality of the text feeds into the creation of a literary text. One element, however, turns out to be indispensable for writers trying to find the right literary form: contingency. To provoke chance, some authors will draw images or listen to music, while others will move between languages or interact with their characters. Tracing the interactions between these elements of creativity in work by authors ranging from Charlotte Brontë, Elsa Morante and Italo Calvino to contemporary writers like Siri Hustvedt, Marina Warner, and Anne Weber, Kukkonen develops a theoretical model that sheds new light on age-old questions.
Program
The book launch will take the form of a conversation between
- Karin Kukkonen, Professor of Comparative Literature (ILOS)
- Timotheus Vermeulen, Professor in Media, Culture and Society (IMV)
- Stefka Georgieva Eriksen, Professor in Medieval Studies (ILN)
- Moderator: Stijn Vervaet, Associate Professor in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Studies (ILOS).
The event will be in English. Welcome!