Collage in Twenty-First-Century Literature in English Art of Crisis

Collage in Twenty-First-Century Literature in English: Art of Crisis considers the phenomenon of the continued relevance of collage, a form established over a hundred years ago, to contemporary literature. It argues that collage is a perfect artistic vehicle to represent the crisis-ridden reality of the twenty-first-century. Being a mixture of fragmentary incompatible voices, collage embodies the chaos of the media-dominated world. Examining the artistic, sociopolitical and personal crises addressed in contemporary collage literature, the book argues that the 21st Century has brought a revival of collage-like novels and essays.

Introduction: Madly in Love with Crisis: Collage Literature Today Chapter One: Theory and Practice of Collage Part I. Art in Crisis Chapter Two: “Why Is Author So Damnably Tired?”: David Markson’s Reader’s Block Tetralogy Chapter Three: Manifestos for “Reality-Based” Art: David Shields’s Reality Hunger And How Literature Saved My Life Part II. Society in Crisis Chapter Four: It’s the End of the World As We Know It: Lance Olsen’s Sewing Shut My Eyes, Head in Flames and Dreamlives of Debris Chapter Five: When We Were Human: Steve Tomasula’s VAS: An Opera in Flatland and The Book of Portraiture Part III. The Self in Crisis Chapter Six: I’m Every Wo/man, Guaranteed One Hundred Per Cent Genuine!: Graham Rawle’s Woman’s World Chapter Seven: Diaries of Bad Years: Maggie Nelson’s Bluets and Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation Conclusion: Collage Is Here to Stay Works Cited

Wojciech Drag (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of English Studies at the University of Wroclaw in Poland.