Description
Book SynopsisCelebrated as a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer, and the winner of numerous major literary prizes including the Whitbread Poetry Prize, the T.S. Eliot Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, John Burnside is one of Britain's leading contemporary writers.
John Burnside: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary literature to guide readers through the full range of the author''s writings, from his fiction and poetry to his autobiographical and nature writing, exploring texts such as
The Dumb House,
The Light Trap,
A Lie about My Father, Glister and
Black Cat Bone. The book examines the major themes of Burnside''s work, including the environment and the natural world, hauntings and dwelling, and his intertextual engagement with philosophy, music and the visual arts. Featuring a timeline of Burnside's life, an interview with the writer himself and a detailed list of further reading, this is the first
Trade ReviewThis is a rich and insightful collection. Drawing on a wide variety of Burnside’s texts, and exploring themes ranging from masculinity to spirituality, and animals to ghosts, the contributors offer the most comprehensive account of Burnside’s writing to date. The volume will expand readers’ understanding of the diversity of Burnside’s work, and cements his importance within the contemporary literary canon. * Dr Timothy C. Baker, Senior Lecturer in Scottish and Contemporary Literature, University of Aberdeen *
This first book-length academic survey of John Burnside’s work brings home just how hard it is to think of another living writer whose distinctive style extends so impressively across poetry, memoir, and fiction. Often drawing on currents of thought with which Burnside is in sympathy (particularly the work of Heidegger), the expert contributors identify, analyse, and explore tropes and preoccupations that permeate his oeuvre. Special attention is paid to Burnside’s deep ecological commitment, and to his often disturbing intermingling of haunted lyricism with irrationality, violence, and a frequently frustrated search for healing. * Robert Crawford, Professor of Modern Scottish Literature and Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Poetry, University of St Andrews, UK *
John Burnside: Contemporary Critical Perspectives provides a long overdue exploration of John Burnside’s works. Though Burnside has received relatively little critical attention to date, he is one of the most important contemporary Scottish writers, with a prolific output spanning across genres.
The essays collected here engage with all the major strands of Burnside’s works, including his interest in the metaphysical, spiritual and supernatural, as well as issues of masculinity, gender and class. The volume’s admirable breadth does justice to the expansiveness of Burnside’s oeuvre, from his poems and novels, to his autobiographical and non-fiction writings. * Astrid Bracke, Lecturer in British literature, HAN University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands *
Table of ContentsSeries Editors’ Preface Foreword: Nicholas Royle Acknowledgements Contributors Chronology of John Burnside’s Life INTRODUCTION
By Way of an Introduction: John Burnside, Writer Ben Davies (University of Portsmouth) CHAPTER ONE
John Burnside’s Metaphysical World: From The Dumb House to A Summer of Drowning Peter Childs (Newman University, Birmingham) CHAPTER TWO
John Burnside’s Numinous Poetry Jan Wilm (Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, Essen, Germany) CHAPTER THREE
‘A temporary, sometimes fleeting thing’: Home in John Burnside’s Poetry Monika Szuba (Gdansk University, Poland) CHAPTER FOUR
Violent Dwellings and Vulnerable Creatures in Burning Elvis and Something Like Happy Alexandra Campbell (University of Edinburgh) CHAPTER FIVE
‘This learned set of limits and blames’: Masculinity, Law and Prohibition in the Work of John Burnside Ruth Cain (University of Kent) CHAPTER SIX
Consequences of Pastoral: The Dialectic of History and Ecology in The Light Trap Tom Bristow (University of Durham) CHAPTER SEVEN
Walking the Tightrope: Félix Guattari’s Three Ecologies and John Burnside’s Glister Phil Pass (Independent Scholar) CHAPTER EIGHT
‘A Kindred Shape’: Hauntings, Spectres and the Poetics of Return in John Burnside’s Verse David Borthwick (University of Glasgow) CHAPTER NINE ‘
It was suddenly hard winter’: John Burnside’s Crossings Julian Wolfreys (University of Portsmouth) INTERVIEW
The Space at the back of the Mind: An Interview with John Burnside Ben Davies (University of Portsmouth)
Notes Further Reading Index
