The myth of emptiness and the new American literature of place / by Wendy Harding.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harding, Wendy, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--21st century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Emptiness (Philosophy) in literature.

Place (Philosophy) in literature.

Nature in literature.

Discourse analysis, Literary.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (266 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In Under the Sign of Empty, Wendy Harding adopts a transdisciplinary perspective that draws on the theories of geographers, historians, sociologists, and philosophers to understand the reasons for the enduring perception of emptiness in the American landscape. In doing so, she identifies a recent trend in the literature of place that corrects the misperceptions resulting from this trope"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction | From Empty Spaces to Storied Places

Part I. The Idea of Empty

1. Placing the Land under the Sign of Empty

2. Creating the American Nation from a Vast and Empty Chaos

Part II. Seeking New Connections

3. Becoming Committed to Place in Rick Bass's Winter

4. The Storied Mountains of Charles Bowden's Frog Mountain Blues

5. Suturing the Map of the Known Universe in Ellen Meloy's The Last Cheater's Waltz

Part III. Retracing Paths and Reassessing Emplacement

6. The Peopled Shape of the Land in Jonathan Raban's Bad Land

7. Unsettling Oppositions in Rebecca Solnit's Savage Dreams

8. Robert Sullivan's Reverse Commute in The Meadowlands

Conclusion | The Void Calls

Earth Calls Back

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781609382926

1609382927

OCLC:

890248850