Obscure Invitations : The Persistence of the Author in Twentieth-Century American Literature

Literary studies in the postwar era have consistently barred attributing specific intentions to authors based on textual evidence or ascribing textual presences to the authors themselves. __Obscure Invitations__ argues that this taboo has blinded us to fundamental elements of twentieth-century literature. Widiss focuses on the particularly self-conscious constructions of authorship that characterize modernist and postmodernist writing, elaborating the narrative strategies they demand and the reading practices they yield. He reveals that apparent manifestations of "the death of the author" and of the "free play" of language are performances that ultimately affirm authorial control of text and reader. The book significantly revises received understandings of central texts by Faulkner, Stein, and Nabokov. It then discusses Eggers' __Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius__ and the films __Seven__ and __The Usual Suspects__, demonstrating that each is a highly self-aware rebuttal of the notion of authorial absence. "While literary studies in the postwar era have varied widely in emphasis and approach, they have consistently barred arguments attributing specific intentions to authors based on textual evidence or ascribing textual presences to the authors themselves. Obscure Invitations argues that this taboo has blinded us to many fundamental elements of twentieth-century literature. Widiss focuses on the particularly self-conscious constructions of authorship that characterize both modernist and postmodernist writing, elaborating the narrative strategies they demand and the reading practices they yield. He reveals that apparent manifestations of "the death of the Author" and of the "free play" of language are in fact carefully staged performances that ultimately affirm authorial vitality and control--of both text and reader."--Page 4 of cover. Fit and surfeit : As I lay dying (seesawing) You know me, Alice : The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (driving) See monkey, do monkey : Lolita (aping) The gospel according to Dave : A heartbreaking work of staggering genius (imbibing) The death of Kevin Spacey : Seven and The usual suspects (envisioning). Obscure Invitations argues that the apparent instances of "the death of the Author" in twentieth-century literature are in fact carefully staged performances that ultimately affirm authorial vitality and control of both text and reader.