Literary Invention Research Articles

Infinite Variety: Literary Invention, Theology, and the Disorder of Kinds, 1688–1730 by Wolfram Schmidgen

<i>Infinite Variety: Literary Invention, Theology, and the Disorder of Kinds, 1688–1730</i> by Wolfram Schmidgen

With]Drawing-Room

This visual essay presents the design research project focusing on Gao Xingjian (b. 1940), who is a Chinese-born novelist, playwright, and painter in exile. He is also a Nobel laureate in literature (2000) for the universal validity, bitter insights, and linguistic ingenuity of his writings. This essay explores the under-researched architectural and spatial allegories of Gao’s literary and theatrical works by interpreting his acts of withdrawal in search of a new perspective for meaning making in a time of crisis and violence most notably marked by the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76). First, this essay examines the traumatic process of Gao’s threefold withdrawal into the uncertain interior of the self. It then focuses on how such experiences of withdrawal have led to Gao’s post-exile play Between Life and Death (1991), and his literary invention of ‘fugitive pronouns’ to represent an interior that is unsettled, obscure, and vague. Finally, to explore the architectural potential of Gao’s play, the design research project [with]Drawing-Room translates the narrative of withdrawal into a spatial performance in three acts through methods of scanning, burning, and tracing. Engaging with notions of darkness and uncertainty through thinkers such as Giorgio Agamben and Francois Jullien, the essay argues against the light of certitude often uncritically associated with modern technology and a rationalistic mind set.

Against Better Judgment: Irrational Action and Literary Invention in the Long Eighteenth Century by Thomas Salem Manganaro (review)

Against Better Judgment: Irrational Action and Literary Invention in the Long Eighteenth Century by Thomas Salem Manganaro (review)

Against Better Judgment: Irrational Action and Literary Invention in the Long Eighteenth Century by Thomas Salem Manganaro (review)

Against Better Judgment: Irrational Action and Literary Invention in the Long Eighteenth Century by Thomas Salem Manganaro (review)

Poe in Cyberspace: The Pleasure Principle Revisited

Poe in Cyberspace: The Pleasure Principle Revisited

Will in Overplus

Abstract: A review of Wolfram Schmidgen's Infinite Variety: Literary Invention, Theology, and the Disorder of Kinds, 1688–1730 (Philadelphia, 2021). Schmidgen's book explicates the theology of early modern voluntarism, which sees the universe as the creation of God's contingent and arbitrary will, and thus as infinitely various, not fully knowable or reducible to a finite taxonomy of kinds. Key figures include John Locke, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope.

Infinite Variety: Literary Invention, Theology, and the Disorder of Kinds, 1688–1730

Infinite Variety: Literary Invention, Theology, and the Disorder of Kinds, 1688–1730

Translation Effects: Language, Time, and Community in Medieval England

Translation Effects: Language, Time, and Community in Medieval England

Christian Monastic Life in Early Islam

Christian Monastic Life in Early Islam

Modernism in Trieste: The Habsburg Mediterranean and the Literary Invention of Europe, 1870–1945

Modernism in Trieste: The Habsburg Mediterranean and the Literary Invention of Europe, 1870–1945

Modernism in Trieste: The Habsburg Mediterranean and the Literary Invention of Europe, 1870–1945 by Salvatore Pappalardo

Modernism in Trieste: The Habsburg Mediterranean and the Literary Invention of Europe, 1870–1945 by Salvatore Pappalardo

Adriaen Collaert, Jan Brueghel and Leguat’s “géant’ – the ongoing longevity of a seventeenth-century avian chimera across science, art and literature

ABSTRACT A Collaert image, a propagandist’s misnomer and a traveller’s description combined to create the ‘géant’, a chimera that developed a life of its own that has persisted even after the real bird seen by Huguenot refugee François Leguat was shown to have been a flamingo, and Collaert’s image a rather etiolated purple swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio). The recent resurrection of the ‘géant’ in separate publications about Adriaen Collaert and Jan Brueghel (in 2010 and 2011, respectively) is discussed in the context of the curious backstory and parallel narratives of this ornithological and literary invention, and highlights the need for greater cross-disciplinary study when a subject crosses scientific, literary and artistic boundaries.

‘Turning her Over in the Flat of my Dreams’: Visuality, Cut-up and Irreality in the Work of Ann Quin

Drawing together dreaming and cut-up in Ann Quin’s work, this article considers the textual juxtapositions of the story, ‘Tripticks’ (1968), the latterly developed novel, Tripticks (1972), and Quin’s explicit incorporation of two ‘cut-up dreams’ into the narrative of Passages (1969). In placing cut-up segments together, a relationship—and a narrative—emerges, although not necessarily a plot-centric one, for ‘[p]lot can diminish in a forest of effects and accidents’ (Quin 1968, ‘Tripticks’: 14). Examining Quin’s development of ‘causeless’ narrative, with recourse to both psychoanalytic and countercultural accounts of the dream, I contend that Quin uses the motif and aesthetics of the dream to explore issues of agency, and dislocation between subject and environment. While W.S. Burroughs stakes his interest in the dream as a basis for (visual) literary invention in The Third Mind in 1967, claiming to be directing his attention ‘outward’, Freud suggests in 1899 that we ‘build our way out into the dark’ in the interpretation of dreams (550). The cut-up functions by the same logic, capitalizing on unpredictability, on not knowing what will come next. While Quin’s cut-ups produce comedy through surprising juxtapositions, their fracturing of temporal and spatial relations, and elimination of causality, result in a somewhat nightmarish ‘reality’ for her depicted subjects, emphasizing entrapment within the dream world over the liberational qualities of dream favoured by Burroughs, narrativising the tension between freedom and constraint inherent in the cut-up form.

Lil Wayne, Imitatio, and the Poetics of Cannibalism

Lil Wayne, Imitatio, and the Poetics of Cannibalism Andrew M. McClellan (bio) Abstract This paper explores rapper Lil Wayne's use of the language of food and consumption through the lens of critical theorizing about poetic imitatio ("imitation") from antiquity through the staggered Renaissances across Europe. I suggest that Lil Wayne's use of consumptive imagery points to a poetics of artistic engagement—what I term a "poetics of cannibalism"—that has lurked in the background of theorizing about imitatio for millennia. Scholars have recognized a range of deep-seated traditions going back to antiquity analogizing literature to physical bodies, literary reception to "consumption," and the notion that competitive poetics is inherently violent. But rarely are these traditions merged in discussions of imitatio. This study sheds light both on the tradition of theorizing about imitatio and on Lil Wayne's place in it. More broadly, the paper interrogates the role food plays in mimetic arts and in discussions of poetics and reception. Introduction: Imitatio One of the most provocative and self-critical expressions of the anxiety of artistic influence occurs in the animated sitcom South Park. The episode "Simpsons Already Did It"1 charts two parallel plots, each of which confronts frictions engendered by working within a generic tradition dominated by the presence of an identifiable urtext (The Simpsons) that seemingly curtails "innovation."2 In one, the child Butters, rejected by his friends Kyle, Stan, and Cartman, assumes the alter ego "Professor Chaos" and sets about plotting the destruction of the world in retaliation. His schemes, however, synopsize Simpsons episodes, as his toady "General Disarray" notifies him with each successive suggestion. Butters's inability to conjure anything "novel" precipitates his spiraling dejection and neurasthenic breakdown, which causes him to see the world of South Park warped into Simpsons-style animation. The second plotline is itself an insidious reworking of a Simpsons short "The Genesis Tub," wherein, like Lisa Simpson, Cartman manages to create a miniature world in a petri dish whose society worships him as a god.3 The two plots converge when Butters notices that the parallel events involving his erstwhile friends mirror the plot of "The Genesis Tub." The conversation doubles as a metatheatrical psychologizing of the show creators' anxieties about writing an animated series in the wake of The Simpsons: BUTTERS: They did that on The Simpsons! Ha! "Treehouse of Horror"! Episode 4F02! "The Genesis Tub." Lisa loses a tooth, and the bacteria on it starts to grow, and makes a little society, and they build a statue of her thinking she's God! Ha! Hahaha! CARTMAN: So? KYLE: Yeah. So? CARTMAN: Dude, The Simpsons have done everything already. Who cares? STAN: Yeah, and they've been on the air for like, thirteen years. Of course they've done everything. [End Page 109] MR. GARRISON: Every idea's been done, Butters, even before The Simpsons. CHEF: Yeah. In fact, that episode was a rip-off of a Twilight Zone episode. BUTTERS: Really? So I shouldn't care if I come up with an idea, and The Simpsons already did it? It … uh … doesn't … matter.4 The boys' schoolteacher Mr. Garrison's claim that "Every idea's been done" is a literary conceit of immense antiquity.5 The Old Testament Ecclesiastes, for example, postulates something similar in "there is nothing new under the sun."6 So too the fifth-century BCE Greek lyric poet Bacchylides—"it's not easy to find the gates of verse unspoken"—and the Roman playwright Terence in Eunuchus—"indeed, there's nothing said today which has not been said before." Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, joked that it's impossible to say anything, no matter how ridiculous, that hasn't already been peddled by some philosopher.7 And there's a wonderful irony that one of the oldest poetic texts that comes down to us—the Words of Khakheperraseneb, a self-reflective colloquy between an Egyptian priest-poet and his listless heart (c. 1,800 BCE)—bemoans the state of literary expression as one of constant recapitulation of earlier poetic material, that literary invention is suffocated by the weight of tradition: If only I had unknown utterancesand extraordinary verses,in...

Leask, Nigel. Stepping Westward: Writing the Highland Tour c. 1720–1830.

Leask, Nigel. <i>Stepping Westward: Writing the Highland Tour c. 1720–1830</i>.

Zones of Occult Instability: The Birth of the Novel in Africa

Zones of Occult Instability: The Birth of the Novel in Africa

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use: Qumran

Intertestamental, Apocrypha, NT Use:Qumran Christopher T. Begg and Fred W. Guyette Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary 1593. [11QT and CD; Impurity of Stone Vessels] Yonatan Adler, "The Impurity of Stone Vessels in 11QTa and CD in Light of the Chalk Vessel Finds at Kh. Qumran," DSD 27 (1, 2020) 66-96. Scholars have argued that the two texts of A.'s title view stone vessels as susceptible to impurity. Chalk vessel finds at Kh. Qumran have presented a challenge to this idea, and solutions to date have proved unsatisfying. The recent publication of final reports on these finds invites us to reconsider both the archaeological and the textual evidence relevant to the ritual status of stone vessels at the Qumran site. The typological profile of the Kh. Qumran assemblage parallels that found at Jewish sites elsewhere. I argue here that both of the above documents view stone vessels as unsusceptible to most kinds of ritual impurity—apart from corpse impurity. In so doing, I elucidate the pentateuchal basis for the documents' view on the matter and seek to make the case that this view was common among contemporary Jews. Against this background, I also explore the origins of the chalk vessel industry in the 1st cent. b.c.e. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1594. [Sons of Zadok in the DSS; Hasmonean Royal High Priesthood; Ezekiel] Vasile Babola, "The Sons of Zadok, the Hasmonean Royal High Priesthood, and the Book of Ezekiel," RevQ 32 (1, 2020) 79-116. The re-emergence of the Sons of Zadok in CD-A, and later in Da, 1QS-1QSa, 1QSb, 4QFlor, and 4Qpap pIsaa has generated a variety of scholarly interpretations. Many scholars have considered the references to the Sons of Zadok in these texts mainly in relation to the Sons of Aaron and most often within the setting of the yaḥad as well. While some have argued for an exile of the Zadokites from Jerusalem, many others have sought to connect [End Page 576] the above texts' mentions of the Sons of Zadok to internal fractures within the yaḥad itself; still others propose that the designation should not be understood in a genealogical sense or even suggest that it be regarded as a literary invention. Against this background, my study begins by considering the Sons of Zadok designation against the backdrop of Hasmonean rule. It does this by interpreting the designation in light of Ezekiel 40–48 and in relation to other ideologies that have found their way into the DSS. As in Ezekiel 40–48, the Sons of Zadok in the DSS have an ideological function. In particular, the adoption of this appellation was an ideological tactic on the part of the Zadokite scribes to lend additional support to their dual Messiah eschatology which involved a separation of the high priesthood from the royal office. Adoption of the designation further seems to imply a refusal on the part of the yaḥad's leadership of the authority of the Hasmonean ruler, Alexander Janneus, especially in his role as high priest. By the same token, the designation reflects a further radicalization in the self-perception of the yaḥad itself, or at least a significant portion of it. Second, my study suggests that all, or almost all, the above-mentioned Scrolls derive from the same circle of scribes. Even though all, or almost all, of these texts are probably based on earlier exemplars, these scrolls appeared to have been copied in order to be read together. The re-emergence of the Sons of Zadok in the DSS, as also probably in Sir 51:12a-o, can tentatively be dated to the time of Janneus. Political and other changes following his death may explain why the Sons of Zadok are not mentioned in later DSS texts. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1595. [Professional Ethics, Provenance and Policies in DSS Scholarship] Rick Bonnie, Matthew Goff, Jutta Jokiranta, Suzie Thomas, and Shani Tzoref, "Professional Ethics, Provenance, and Policies: A...

Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology Fred W. Guyette, Christopher T. Begg, Thomas Hieke, Brent A. Strawn, and Atilla Bodor 875. [God Acting in History; Sinai] Craig G. Bartholomew, The God Who Acts in History: The Significance of Sinai (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2020). Pp. xxii + 265. $45. ISBN 978-0-8028-7467-2. In the Bible and in our liturgies we encounter claims that God is Creator and Ruler of the universe, and that God has acted in certain historical events in a decisive way. God's purpose in doing these things is to invite us into a relationship with him. On the basis of these actions, God wants us to join in the missio Dei. George E. Wright's book God Who Acts (1952) is one important landmark in the discussion. James Barr has probed and questioned these claims, however, and raised serious doubts about whether the miracles recounted in Exodus, particularly on Mt. Sinai, really happened. A similar argument is made by John Van Seters, "The Plagues of Egypt: Ancient Tradition or Literary Invention?" ZAW 98 (1986) 31-39. Benjamin Sommer examines both minimalist and maximalist approaches to the question of whether God speaks and acts in history in his Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition (2015). Maimonides (1138–1204) had his own pious and mystical reasons for believing that God did not "speak" at Sinai. B. Spinoza (1632–1677) read the Bible closely, and found that many of its rational ideas about law that had to be communicated by means of "events" that were imagined rather than historical. Kant, too, valued the Ten Commandments because they make us better human beings, but he doubted the historicity of the signs and wonders in Exodus. According to Michael Wyschogrod's book The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel, however, Scripture shows us a God who is a real character in a historically grounded narrative, with real emotions (anger, sorrow, great love), who engages in historical actions. B. gives special attention to the implications of Exodus 19–24, in which God enters into a covenant with Moses and Israel. Here, B. finds good reasons for concluding that God has spoken to us and that God does act in human history.—F.W.G. [End Page 315] 876. [God; Revelation] Richard Bauckham, Who Is God? Key Moments of Biblical Revelation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020). Pp. 120. $21.99. ISBN 97-1-5409-6190-7. This small volume originated as a lecture series delivered by B., a senior British NT scholar, in 2015 in Addis Ababa and in 2018 in Nova Scotia. In the introduction to the volume, B. gives (pp. 2-3) this account of the approach, content, and aim of his work: "The key moments of divine disclosure we shall reflect on in the book … are Jacob's dream at Bethel (Gen 28:10-22); the revelation to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3); the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 33:17–34:8); and the three key moments of revelation in the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11; 9:2-8; 15:37-39). In all these cases, our exploration of biblical theology will range more widely than these moments of disclosure themselves, but they will be our guiding stars by which to travel the related territory. "My approach in this book is to treat the Bible as a canonical whole. Here I do not engage in historical reconstruction behind and around the texts, though that is a task that greatly interests me and one I pursue elsewhere. Here I am interested in the texts as we have them and as belonging to the canon of Scripture—a collection of sacred writings that witness to God through the divine disclosures they contain. "I hope to show readers that the Bible's account of the identity of God is consistent both within and across the two testaments. I have no wish to discount the diversity of the various parts of Scripture, but I think that a theological interpretation of Scripture should seek the unity in the diversity. The approach is necessarily broad brush, but detailed exegesis is at its heart...

Crowds and Power in the Early Palestinian Tradition

This article draws on critical crowd theory to explore how historical Jesus research can benefit from a more robust understanding of the crowds that engulf Jesus as subjects of historical change. Conventional approaches to the crowds within New Testament scholarship are complicit in heightening Jesus’ individual exceptionalism. Rather than envisaging the crowds as part of the anonymous background to Jesus’ ministry, or as a literary invention by the Gospel authors, we should instead regard the crowds as a collective expression of underlying social, political, and economic antagonisms.

Crime and Testament: Enemy Direct Speech in Inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal

AbstractNeo-Assyrian royal inscriptions are always narrated in the first-person voice of the king. Within this framing narrative, the device that we would call ‘direct speech’ is used only rarely, and judiciously. The texts that make the greatest use of this literary device both come from a period of particular innovation and experimentation in royal text forms: Esarhaddon’s Nineveh A and Ashurbanipal’s narratives about his campaign against Elamite king Teumman. In these examples, and in other texts of the time including Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty, the words of enemies stand out as particularly threatening – and yet also particularly useful, as a literary device employed to further Assyrian agendas. Royal narratives use enemy speech for one of two purposes: either to document criminality, or to show enemies, in defeat and despair, testifying to the might and rightness of their Assyrian conquerors. Looking at all examples of speech – from enemies, gods, and the Assyrian king – I distinguish between ‘direct speech’ (as a literary device) and ‘quotation’ (as a practice). Most, though not all, direct speech in the sources considered here is also quotation, in that it seeks to document and preserve speech made in some other prior form (a verbal statement, a letter, an omen on an animal’s liver). Quotations demonstrate royal legitimacy and enemy culpability, while literary invention allows enemy voices to be turned to new purposes, as forced testament to Assyrian supremacy.