Acts of Literature

Acts of Literature, compiled in close association with Jacques Derrida, brings together for the first time a number of Derrida's writings on literary texts. The essays discuss literary figures such as Rousseau, Mallarme, Joyce, Shakespeare, and Kafka, and comprise pieces spanning Derrida's career. The collection includes a substantial new interview with him on questions of literature, deconstruction, politics, feminism and history, and Derek Attridge provides an introductory essay on deconstruction and the question of literature, with suggestions for further reading. These essays examine the place and operation of literature in Western culture, and are highly original responses to individual literary texts. They highlight Derrida's interest in literature as a significant cultural institution and as a peculiarly challenging form of writing, with inescapable consequences for our thinking about philosophy, politics and ethics.

First published in 1992. "Acts of Literature", compiled in close association with Derrida, brings together for the first time a number of Derrida's writings on literary texts on the question of literature. The essays discuss literary figures such as Rousseau, Mallarme, Joyce, Shakespeare and Kafka. Comprising pieces spanning Derrida's career, the collection includes a substantial new interview with him on questions of literature, deconstruction, politics, feminism and history. Derek Attridge provides an introductory essay on deconstruction and the question of literature, and offers suggestions for further reading. These essays examine the place and function of literature in Western culture. They highlight Derrida's interest in literature as a significant cultural institution and as a peculiarly challenging form of writing, with inescapable consequences for our thinking about philosophy, politics and ethics. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and academics in the field of literary theory and criticism and continental philosophy.

Introduction: Derrida and the Questioning of Literature, 1 “ This Strange Institution Called Literature” An Interview with Jacques Derrida 2 That Dangerous Supplement ...” 3 Mallarmé 4 The First Session 5 Before the Law 6 The Law of Genre 7 Ulysses Gramophone: Hear Say Yes in Joyce 8 From Psyche: Invention of the Other 9 From Signsponge 10 From Shibboleth: For Paul Celan 11 Aphorism Countertime A Selected Bibliography of Derrida’s Writing

Jacques Derrida is Director d'Etudes, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. Derek Attridge is Professor of English at Rutger University.