October 03, 2004

thesis published, finally!

After receiving my thesis feedback from Dr. Warley, I wanted to revise my thesis before publishing it. She identified weaknesses in argumentation and style that I would like to eliminate. But I've not revised my thesis and it remains available to few people. So, I've decided to publish it, argumentation and style problems included. Now, if you wanted to know what I worked on for months, you can find out!

Note to English students: if you found this paper, your professor will be able to as well.

Posted by Jesse at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2004

thesis outline and four weeks left to go

I just sent my updated thesis outline to my supervisor. That's right, I said outline.

"But isn't your 45-page paper due in four weeks?"

Yes it is. Nose, meet grindstone.

Posted by Jesse at 04:40 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2004

holy shit do I need to work on my thesis

I need to work on my thesis. My meeting today with my supervisor was brief. We agreed that I've been slacking off and I need to make my thesis my top priority. Stay tuned for more posts about my thesis.

Posted by Jesse at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)

January 08, 2004

Thesis underway, again

My first thesis meeting of the term was this morning at 10:00. For once, I arrived early. After grabbing a free java (free with a membership!) from the Graduate House, I returned and my meeting with my supervisor started. We talked about my thesis proposal. I understand that a thesis proposal is basically a narrated essay outline. At the time that I wrote the proposal, I didn't understand that it was supposed to be exciting.

In the next few days, I will nail down a bold, interesting thesis, which I will pin on my desktop. In the next two weeks, I will draft an introduction to my 40-50 page essay. I'm looking forward to it. Re-reading my thesis proposal re-excited me about my thesis and meeting with my supervisor lit the proverbial fire under my ass.

Interestingly, a mention of my previous blog entry on my thesis proposal sparked a brief discussion about decorum and the nature of my relationship with my supervisor. She was surprised to hear that I had quoted some of her feedback on my thesis proposal in such a public forum. She didn't ask me to remove the entry and our discussion was useful and instructive.

Working one-on-one is a great way to learn.

Posted by Jesse at 11:04 AM | Comments (1)

August 20, 2003

Thesis proposal feedback

I’ve received my thesis proposal feedback. I submitted five double-spaced pages; my supervisor replied with one single-spaced page. The feedback-to-work submitted ratio is decent.

My thesis proposal is barely decent, however. Insipred by Shannon, here are some choice comments from my supervisor:

  • "Right now, these points are still a bit buried under details, and there is no clear statement of the overarching argument."
  • "In terms of the proposal itself, I can see that you are unfamiliar with the genre – which is to be expected. Frankly it does not make for inspiring reading!"
  • "The opening summary is really unnecessary since you go on to make each point under specific ‘sections’."
  • "Also, the passive voice proliferates. Please excise it from your writing."
  • "I’d say that the work you have done this term has been very solid. You are now well positioned to undertake the analysis and writing – once you have a clear thesis. Write it out and pin it above your desk so that you literally do not lose sight of it as you develop your discussion."

This is a good way for me to learn. My supervisor’s criticism is valid and correct. In Winter 2003, I begin writing my thesis.

Posted by Jesse at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2003

Thesis proposal

Here’s my thesis proposal for ENGL 495A/B, my senior honours essay. Enjoy. The proposal is for a 40-50 page final paper, which I will write in Winter 2004.

My paper will identify and interpret patterns of transtextuality in Whylah Falls and Beatrice Chancy. These primary texts were chosen because they are polyvocal, close to each other in terms of the space of Africadia and far apart in terms of the time of Africadia, and have been produced in more than one form. In addition, the extant criticism on the texts leaves much to be said.

An analysis of transtextuality in Whylah Falls and Beatrice Chancy reveals patterns of inter-, archi- and paratextuality that, when examined, establish the texts as postcolonial texts. Patterns of intertextuality include allusions to the Bible and the history of Nova Scotia. Instances of architextuality include the genres and forms employed in the texts. Instances of paratextuality include the parodies of newspapers and the use of photographs. Biblical allusions to Exodus in Beatrice Chancy emphasize the similarities between Jews and Africadians and intimate at the migration of blacks from Africa to America to Canada to Sierra Leone and biblical allusions in both texts illustrate the importance of Christianity to Africadians and its problems. The genres and forms of Whylah Falls convey postcolonial theories about diaspora identities and the genres and forms of Beatrice Chancy convey Clarke’s theories about the role of the mixed-race black and the Renaissance of Africadian literature. The extensive use of music in the texts, particularly the blues, illustrates the importance of music in Africadia and connects the Black community in Nova Scotia with black communities across the globe that have strong traditions of music and orature. Clarke’s parodies of newspapers in both texts convey the theories of Benedict Anderson and others about the role of newspapers in the creation of a national identity. Allusions to historical people, places and events and the use of archival photographs ground the texts in the history of Nova Scotia and invite the reader to learn more about the erased history of Nova Scotia, otherwise known as the history of African Nova Scotians.

This section of the paper will examine biblical allusions to Exodus in Beatrice Chancy and argue that these allusions emphasize the similarities between Jews and Africadians and intimate at the historical migration of blacks from Africa to America to Canada to Sierra Leone. Biblical quotations will be taken from the King James Bible and the paper will draw historical information from a Canadian government web site and Winks’s history (“Black Loyalists” and Winks). This section will also argue that biblical allusions in Whylah Falls and Beatrice Chancy emphasize the importance of Christianity to the communities. Wilson’s observations about Beatrice as a Christ and Chancy as God will be quoted (Wilson 269). The various Reverends and Fathers of the two texts will be compared. The paper will argue that Christianity is clearly important to the communities, but not problem-free or wholly positive.

This section of the paper will identify and examine genre and form in Whylah Falls and argue that they convey postcolonial theories about diaspora identity. First, the paper will enumerate the genres and forms of Whylah Falls. Stanford’s comment about the “multiplicity of voices” in Whylah Falls will be cited and supported (679). Clarke’s theory of a modal, rather than model blackness will be cited (“Contesting” 61), as will his comments that black writers enjoy subverting and deforming the “imposed canons and grammars of Europe” (“No Language” 275). Wells’ argument about Clarke’s “transplantation” of the pastoral and Renaissance lyric sequence will be cited as an example of how Clarke works with established literary forms (72). Her argument will be extended to the genres of the text – epic, lyric and drama – and to some forms, such as the epistle and aphorism. Finally, this section will introduce some theories of diaspora identities, as summarized by John McLeod (216), and argue that Whylah Falls, through genre and form, conveys most of these theories.

This section of the paper will identify and examine genre and form in Beatrice Chancy and argue that they convey Clarke’s theories about the situation of the mixed-race black and the Renaissance of Africadian literature. Clarke’s commentary about the zebra poetics of African Canadian writers will be summarized and applied to the play. The paper will consider the situation and treatment of the two significant mixed-race characters in the text, Beatrice and Dice, and compare these characters to the two archetypes identified by Clarke (“Canadian Biraciality” 217). The section will also illustrate the various allusions to Renaissance Italy and renaissance tragedy in Beatrice Chancy and argue that these allusions draw attention to the historical arc of Africadian literature, specifically its birth, death and rebirth, as described by Clarke (“The Birth and Rebirth” 123). The section will argue further argue that Beatrice is a metaphor for the Africadian spirit and her birth, life and death can be mapped to the “birth, abeyance and rebirth” of Africadian literature (Clarke “The Birth and Rebirth” 107). The complexity of this analogy between Beatrice and Africadian literature will be juxtaposed with the demands of the libretto form. Wilson’s comments about Beatrice’s ultimately near-allegorical identity will be discussed (Wilson 272).

This section of the paper will argue that the extensive use of music in the texts, particularly the blues, illustrates the importance of music in Africadia and connects the black community in Nova Scotia with black communities across the globe. Thomas’s examination of the blues in Whylah Falls will be cited and extended to an examination of the blues in Beatrice Chancy. Beatrice Chancy’s development from libretto to play will be mentioned. Clarke’s comments about the contemporary benefits of opera will be quoted (Verduyn 186), as will Linda Hutcheon’s statements about opera as a tool of nationalism (Verduyn 186). Morales general work on the importance of music, dance and gesture in African, African American and Caribbean literature will be cited as evidence of the importance of music to some black writers (Morales). Moynagh’s enumeration of the various media that Africadians have used to talk about Africville will be cited to support the argument that music is important to Africadians (Moynagh 19). The section will identify how music is present in the two texts, illustrate the importance of music to other writers and suggest that one function of music in the texts is to link it with other texts that emphasize music, particularly African and African American texts.

This section of the paper will enumerate Clarke’s use of the newspaper in both texts and argue that his satire of newspapers is a critique of the role of newspapers in creating a national identity. Moynagh’s citation of Anderson will be noted (Moynagh “Africville” 15). Anderson’s particular argument about the newspaper and novel sharing the same unities of time and space as the nation will be quoted (Anderson 25) and his argument will be extended to the forms in the two texts, particularly drama. Clarke’s views on conservatism and its place in Africadian literature (“The Birth and Rebirth” 122) and his concept of nationalism, as articulated in his review of Remember Africville and his interview with Moynagh, will be summarized (Clarke “The Death and Rebirth” and Moynagh “Mapping”). The section will argue that in both texts, Clarke criticizes newspapers for their participation in the creation of the white European Canadian national identity at the expense of a positive Africadian identity.

This section of the paper will argue that allusions to historical people, places and events, including the use of archival photographs, ground the texts in the history of Nova Scotia and invite the reader to learn more about the erased history of Nova Scotia, otherwise known as the history of African Nova Scotians. Cuder-Dominguez observation that Beatrice Chancy is grounded in the particular will be quoted. The paratextual elements of both texts (the introductory material, maps and photographs) will be described and analyzed. Clarke’s comments about his role as historian will be quoted (Moynagh 73-4). The section will argue that both texts strenuously resist the erasure of Africadian history and that this resistance contributes to the creation of Africadian nationalism.

Works Cited

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 1983.

“Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People.” Canada’s Digital Collections. http://collections.ic.gc.ca/blackloyalists/story/our_story.htm

Clarke, George Elliott. “Contesting a Model Blackness: A Meditation on African-Canadian African Americanism, or the Structures of African Canadianité.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 27-70.

–. “The Birth and Rebirth of Africadian Literature.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 107-25.

–. “The Death and Rebirth of Africadian Nationalism.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 288-96.

–. “Canadian Biraciality and Its Zebra Poetics.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 211-37.

–. “No Language is Neutral: Seizing English for Ourselves.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 275-76.

Cuder-Dominguez, Pilar. “African Canadian Writing and the Narration of Slavery.” Essays on Canadian Writing 80 (2003): 55-75.

McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000.

McNeilly, Kevin. “Word Jazz 2.” Rev. of Beatrice Chancy, by George Elliot Clarke. Canadian Literature 165 (2000): 176-81.

Morales, D.M. “The Pervasive Force of Music in African, Caribbean and African American Drama.” Research in African Literatures 34.2 (2003): 145-54.

Moynagh, Maureen. “Mapping Africadia’s Imaginary Geography: An Interview with George Elliott Clarke.” ARIEL 27.4 (1996): 71-94.

–. “Africville, an Imagined Community.” Canadian Literature 157 (1998): 14-34.

Lane, M. Travis. “An Unimpoverished Style: the Poetry of George Elliott Clarke.” Canadian Poetry 16 (1985): 47-54.

Stanford, Ann Folwell. “‘Firewater, that lovers pour for prophets’: Three African American poets.” Rev. of Poetic Penguins, by William Boyd, Lodestar and Other Night Lights, by Nagueyalti Warren and Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke.” African American Review 28.4 (1994): 675.

Thomas, H. Nigel. “Some Aspects of Blues Use in George Elliott Clarke’s Whylah Falls.” CLA 43 (1999): 1-18.

Wilson, Ann. “Beatrice Chancy: Slavery, Martyrdom and the Female Body.” Siting the Other: Re-Visions of Marginality in Australian and English-Canadian Drama. Eds. Marc Maufort and Franca Bellarsi. Brussels: PIE Lang, 2001. 267-278.

Wells, Dorothy. “A Rose Grows in Whylah Falls: Transplanted Traditions in George Elliott Clarke’s ‘Africadia’.” Canadian Literature 155 (1997): 56-73.

Verduyn, Christl. “Opera in Canada: a Conversation.” Interview with Linda Hutcheon and George Elliott Clarke. Journal of Canadian Studies 35.3 (2000): 184-98.

Winks, Robin W. The Blacks in Canada: A History. Montréal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s UP, 1997.

Posted by Jesse at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2003

An annotated bibliography for Beatrice Chancy and Whylah Falls

Clarke, George Elliot. “Contesting a Model Blackness: A Meditation on African-Canadian African-Americanism, or the Structures of African Canadianité.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 27-70. Clarke argues that despite the proximity of African Canadians to African America, African Canadian literature will not be subsumed by African American literature. He argues that the general relationship between the United States and Canada is reflected in the relationship between African Americans and African Canadians. He asserts that Black America is not a refuge for African-Canadian culture because its attitudes towards it are either “hegemonic dismissal or peremptory annexation”(28). Citing the acknowledged influence of mainstream Canadian culture on African-Canadian writing, Clarke concludes African-Canadian literature will be “rent by regionalism as well as by ethnic and linguistic differences”(61). Punning on model, Clarke terms the result a modal blackness, or African Canadianité.

–. “The Birth and Rebirth of Africadian Literature.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 107-125. Clarke argues that Africadian literature has two beginnings: one in 1785 and one in 1974. Clarke identifies John Marrant’s Narrative of the Lord’s Dealings with John Marrant, a Black as the first Africadian imaginative work. He contends that a corpus of literature did not develop, however, until the destruction of Africville and the subsequent relocation of Africvillers. Clarke identifies Frederick Ward’s Riverlisp: Black Memories as the first Africadian novel and the beginning of the Africadian cultural renaissance. This Africadian Renaissance, Clarke argues, is a “secular recapitulation of the classical religious themes”(122).

–. "Death and Rebirth of Africadian Nationalism.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 288-296. The essay begins as a review of Shelagh Mackensie’s film, Remember Africville. Clarke notes and comments on the obvious aspects of the film (the history of Africville, the various types of footage used in the film, etc. The majority of the essay, however, is concerned with a subtle aspect of the film. Clarke argues that the film depicts the rise of Africadian nationalism. To open his discussion of this aspect of the film, Clarke juxtaposes the film’s title and the famous Québecois slogan, je me souviens. Clarke asserts that the destruction of Africville marked the death of the first Africadian nationalism and that a new nationalism was born of the rubble of Africville. In particular, Clarke asserts that the failure of the old nationalism, metonymically represented by the wooden Seaview United Baptist Church, was a signal to the young generation that a new nationalism was required. Clarke grants that the destruction of Africville should be mourned, but charges that the time for mourning has ended and the time of rebirth has begun.

–. "Canadian Biraciality and Its Zebra Poetics.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 211-237. Noting that mixed-race blacks are a constant problem for would-be black nationalist intellectuals, Clarke contends that since the history of slavery in Canada produced many mixed-race blacks, “mixed-race figures should be activating the imaginations of at least some African-Canadian writers”(212). He outlines two archtypes of the mixed-race black – the traitor and the radical matyr-subversive. Clarke offers Lawrence Hill’s protagonist of Any Known Blood, Cane V, as an example of an African-Canadian interrogation of blackness. Cane V is able to pass for many non-black identities, and he plays with this power. Clarke also examines three Western Canadian black writers: Suzette Mayr, Mercedes Baines and Wayde Compton. He argues that these writers have “challenged puerile categorizations of their complex selves”(232).

–. "No Language is Neutral: Seizing English for Ourselves.” Odysseys Home: Mapping African-Canadian Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. 275-276. Clarke asserts that black writers feel joy in subverting the structures of European grammars and canons. He offers Phillis Wheatley as the first African poet to deform a language. He also states that language cannot be neutral while white society continues to define blackness as its infernal inverse. He concludes, “The word is out.”

–, et al. “Turning an Elephant into a Microphone: A Conversation on Translation and Adaptation.” Canadian Theatre Review 114 (Spring 2003): 47-53. The panel discussion, lead by Clarke, focuses on the difficulties of translating or adapting a text to a new genre. The discussion starts with translations. Clarke asks the panel about the importance of carrying over cultural codes, not just language, during translation or adaptation. Clarke also asks panelists if they had been charged with poorly translating or adapting a text, and, if they had, how they dealt with that accusation. The conversation drifts to the need for surtitles. Clarke asks whether or not there is worth in being traitorous to a text, without apology. Clarkes characterizes translation and adaptation as acts of love and acts of violence and restates his question: why not be violent about it? Near the end of the panel discussion, Clarke talks about adapting Whylah Falls from poem-novel to play and Beatrice Chancy from libretto to verse drama. He asserts that each genre demands its own approach and that adaptations must respect the demands of the new genre.

Cuder-Dominguez, Pilar. “African Canadian Writing and the Narration of Slavery.” Essays on Canadian Writing 80 (Fall 2003): 55-75. Cuder-Dominguez examines three texts: Lawrence Hill’s Any Known Blood, George Elliot Clarke’s Beatrice Chancy, and Dionne Brand’s At the Full and Change of the Moon. Focusing on how each text addresses slavery, Cuder-Dominguez argues that each writer imagines a particular community in a particular way. The analysis of Beatrice Chancy notes that black women’s bodies are commodified. It also discusses some of the play’s European intertexts (Shakespeare, Shelley). Cuder-Dominguez asserts that Beatrice Chancy is “located at the crossroads of European and African concerns”(64). The thesis of the piece is that these texts illustrate both the range of differences between African Canadian writers and their common inheritance: slavery.

Joyette, Anthony. “Beatrice Chancy” [review]. Kola 11.2: 70-4. The review sets Clarke in opposition to other African Canadian writers because of his focus on place. Joyette notes Clarke’s use of history and allusions, and asserts that these things allow Canadians to relate to the narrative. Joyette also notes that Beatrice Chancy counters the myth of Canada as Canaan, as a land free from slavery. He identifies slavery, white supremacy, and the oppression of female sexuality as themes of the play.Joyette also states that Beatrice is a metonym for the Black Canadian spirit and that Francis Chancy is a metonym for Canada’s “cult of white male Empiricism, double standards, and conceitedness in the setting of moral standards”(73).

McNeilly, Kevin. “Word Jazz 2.” rature 165 (Summer 2000): 176-181. McNeilly argues that Beatrice Chancy is a “masterful challenge to the endemic mastery of a racially-exclusive cultural dominant”(178). McNeilly comments on the range of allusions Clarke employs and argues that the drama is not merely an echo of the story of Beatrix Cénci. He cites an allusion to Flaubert’s Fleurs du Mal as an example of how Clarke pulls intertexts into the drama and reshapes them. He calls this method vernacular formalism and asserts that Clarke “inhabits the languge by pushing it to its lyrical limits, exposing the linkages between literary wonderment and human abuse”(177). McNeilly also argues that Beatrice Chancy is political at the level of style. As evidence, he cites an exchange between Beatrice and Lead, wherein Beatrice speaks in two registers: the pristine and the demotic (borrowing the terms from M. NorbeSe Philip). McNeilly concludes his review by comparing Beatrice Chancy to Joe Sealy’s Africville Suite and Wynton Marsalis’s oratorio Blood on the Fields.

Morales, D.M. “The Pervasive Force of Music in African, Caribbean and African American Drama.” frican Literatures 34.2 (Summer 2003): 145-54. Morales argues that music, language, and gesture are interdepent aspects of African, Caribbean, and African American drama. Morales shows the influence of music on three Black writers (one writer characterizes himself as an improvising soloist). Morales also notes that Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston used the blues to structure their unfinished collaboration. Morales asserts that a different use of music, which he calls using music as an organic force, is more common in African and Caribbean drama than it is in African American drama. He cites the death dance in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman as an example of music as an organic force in drama. The basic thesis of the article is that music, dance, and gesture are strongly interdependent to language, in African, Caribbean, and African American drama.

Moynagh, Maureen. “Mapping Africadia’s Imaginary Geography: An Interview with George Elliot Clarke” [interview]. ARIEL 27.4 (1996): 71-94. The introduction to the interview argues that Clarke re-writes colonial history and re-maps colonial terrain self-consciously, in order to “claim ontological ground denied the black community in the larger Canadian narrative”(72). The interview questions address Clarke’s audience, the commemortive aspect of his poetry, the dangers of nostalgia, the relationship between language, reality, and truth, the meaning of Africadia, the tension of living away from Nova Scotia, the Africadian cultural renaissance, Clarke’s role as a Black poet from Nova Scotia, anti-modern modernity, postcolonialism and colonialism, and nationalism. Clarke comments on his then-upcoming verse play, Beatrice Chancy.

–. “Africville, an Imagined Community.” Canadian Literature 157 (Summer 1998): 14-34. Moynagh argues that Afican-Nova Scotian writers, in imagining Africville, strive to “identify and resist the structural racism that produces and destroys Africvilles”(29). Moreover, Moynagh argues that these ‘Africville texts’ “disrupt the conventional homogeneity of imagined communities” by foregrounding competing imaginations of Africville (30). Moynagh argues that an anti-urban, anti-industrial was a readily available paradigm in Nova Scotia. She also shows that imaginations of Africville, starting with Frederick Ward’s Riverlisp: Black Memories, have been made in many media: poetry, film, drama, music, painting, museum exhibits, fiction and essays. She examines George Elliot Clarke’s early treatments of Africville in Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues and cites his critical work on Africadian nationalism.

Lane, M. Travis. “An Unimpoverished Style: the Poetry of George Elliot Clarke.” Canadian Poetry 16 (Spring-Summer 1985): 47-54. Lane reviews Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues. He places Clarke in opposition to poets in the style of Atwood and Kroetsch, calling their style impoverished and notes that Clarke is unafraid of an audience who does not wish to encounter educated references. Lane asserts that Clarke is comfortable engaging with the history, art, literature and music of Europe, North America and Africa and illustrates his point with an analysis of ‘Musquodoboit Road Church.’ The remainder of the review focuses on technical aspects of Clarke’s poetry. Lane lauds Clarke’s facility with “consonance, assonance, alliteration, rhyme and rhythmic stress”(48). He contends that Clarke common line is short and loosely trochaic. Lane also explores Clarke’s use of imagery and notes that his images cohere better when linked by a “minimal degree of narrative”(51). The review concludes with a close reading of ‘The Emissaries,’ which notes a subtle change from loose trochees to iambs in the final stanza.

Sacuta, Norm. “Beatrice Chancy” [review]. The Canadian Forum 78.882 (Oct 1999): 41-44. Sacuta argues that the philosophical theories that should power the narrative and provide a basis for good characters in fact reinforce, rather than undo, categories of difference. Noting that a libretto is quite different from poetry on the page, Sacuta asserts that the philosophies that motivate the characters – namely, deconstruction and postcolonial theory – are replaced by didactic statements that fail to undo racist and sexist categories. Sacuta cites comments about Beatrice’s rape, by Beatrice, Deal and Dice as laughter-inspiring clichés. He adds that the names of the characters are too blunt and argues that some of the dialogue illustrates an inability to show rather than tell.

Stanford, Ann Folwell. “‘Firewater, that lovers pour for prophets’: Three African American poets – Poetic Pengiuns by William Boyd/Lodestar and Other Night Lights by Nagueyalti Warren/Whylah Falls by George Elliot Clarke” [review]. African American Review 28.4 (Winter 1994): 675. Stanford reviews three volumes of poetry, the first two by African American poets. At the outset of her review, she notes that African American poetry has never been a “monolithic entity”(675). Her review of Whylah Falls notes the many voices of the poem. Standford enumerates some of the forms and genres present in the text and highlights a funny correction in the Whylah Moon. The review concludes with high praise for the text, couched in food metaphors that neatly segue into a closing quotation from ‘The Ballad of Othello Clemence.'

Thomas, H. Nigel. “Some Aspects of Blues Use in George Elliot Clarke’s Whylah Falls.” CLA 43 (September 1999): 1-18. Thomas examines how Clarke employs the blues in Whylah Falls. He argues that Clarke employs the blues in two ways: overtly and covertly (I substitute here ‘covert use of the blues’ for implanting aspects of the blues into prose and poetry; Thomas does not use the word covert). The essay opens with general comments about Whylah Falls. Thomas notes the variety of genres employed in the text and praises the way Clarke fuses African diasporic, European Hellenistic and Judeo Christian traditions. Thomas asserts that the time of the text is the Great Depression, specifically 1935. Thomas’ argues that the blues encodes both the evolution of the phylum, or tribe, and the dialogue between the sexes. Thomas stresses, however, that Clarke does not employ the blues unmodified: he “places on them his personal stamp”(18). Thomas offers ‘Blues for X,’ from section III of the text, as an example of the encoding of the dialogue between the sexes (represented by X and Selah). He also argues that ‘Jordantown Blues’ concludes the dialogue of ‘King Bee Blues’ and ‘Blues for X’(12). Thomas pays close attention to ‘Jordantown Blues’ and comments on its non-traditional aspects. He asserts that the poem lacks the traditional balladic repition, end rhymes and lazy pace, but retains the pain (15).

Workman, Sharon. “Poet’s Philosophy of Beauty: in Person: with Works such as Whylah Falls, George Elliot Clarke Fights Oppression in His Own Way.” Globe And Mail 10 January 1997: C9. The article opens with comments on the importance of beauty to George Elliot Clarke. It relates the story of how, for the stage performance of Whylah Falls: The Play Clarke changed the skin colour of Othello’s murderer: instead of S. Scratch Seville, the murderer was a black man. Clarke states that his poetry is about “what beautiful Black people have done, not what awful white men have done to [them].” Clarke also talks about his responsibility to include Black Nova Scotia in the Black Atlantic and comments on his audience.

Wilson, Ann. “Beatrice Chancy: Slavery, Martyrdom and the Female Body.” Sitting the Other: Re-Visions of Marginality in Australian and English-Canadian Drama. Eds. Marc Maufort and Franca Bellarsi. Brussels: 2001. 267-278. Wilson argues that Beatrice Chancy perpetuates traditional notions of femininity. Wilson identifies the racial-familial conflict inherent in the Chancy family and discusses the sexual exploitation of female slaves. She also opposes Beatrice to Francis and argues that the former represents goodness and that the latter represents evilness. Wilson discusses how Biblical allusions contribute to the play. She argues that Beatrice’s tri-part transformation from traditional female to “phallic avenger” to traditional female deprives Beatrice of her female agency. Wilson concludes by asserting that “the stories of women are told by men, which casts them within the male imaginary of femininity”(278).

Wells, Dorothy. “A Rose Grows in Whylah Falls: Transplanted Traditions in George Elliot Clarke’s ‘Africadia’.” rature 155 (Winter 1997): 56-73. Wells argues that in Whylah Falls Clarke translates, transforms and transplants two European literary traditions: the sonnet sequence and the pastoral. She further argues that this transplantation of form retrieves from the margins “Black Nova Scotian voices that might otherwise have been lost or silenced”(72). In her discussion of the sonnet sequence, Wells asserts that, just as early European sonnets voiced personal material previously without voice in European literature, Clarke’s transplantation of the sonnet sequence gives voice to the concerns of a “marginalized racial group,” namely Africadians. The transplantation of the pastoral tradition is treated in greater detail than the sonnet sequence. Wells’ argues that Clarke works with and against the pastoral tradition by offering both the golden glory and “harsh bleakness” of Africadia (57). In considering the liminal figure of the pastoral tradition, Wells’ argues that the role of liminal figure is played by four characters: the three poets, X, Pablo and Othello; and Shelley. Her examination progresses through each of Whylah Falls’ seven sections. She notes the fusion of “many elements from Euro-American literary traditions with local Black idioms”(63). Wells aligns each of the seven sections with a different theme:I: X’s unrequited love for Shelley (60); II: the darker side of human relationships (63); III: narcissitic love (66); IV: the beauty of emotional love (67); becoming beautiful after pain (68); VI: the association of beauty with holiness and death (69); VII: the value of beauty’s power (71).

Verduyn, Christl. “Opera in Canada: a Conversation.” Interview with Linda Hutcheon and George Elliot Clarke. Journal of Canadian Studies 35.3 (Fall 2000): 184-98. The interview deals with the situation of opera in Canada. Christl Verduyn asked Linda Hutcheon and George Elliot Clarke to “locate opera on Canada’s cultural landscape as we head into the twenty-first century”(184). Hutcheon and Clarke discuss and comment upon a wide range of issues: the economics of opera, its appeal to rock concert-going youth, the postmodern aspects of the form, and its history, in Canada and the world. Hutcheon points out the prominence of enormous, unmiked voices, especially in small-scale opera. Hutcheon and Clarke point out the importance and benefits of surtitles, which were introduced in 1984 by the Canadian Opera Company. Clarke comments on the rewards of hearing his words come back at him from actors and singers.

Zimmermann, Cynthia. “Drama 1999” [review]. University of Toronto Quarterly 70.1 (Winter 2000/2001): 246-71. Zimmermann reviews both of Clarke’s plays: Beatrice Chancy and Whylah Falls: The Play. She summarizes the plot of Beatrice Chancy and notes its lush and ornate language. She asserts that, while this type of language is appropriate for a verse drama and libretto, it seems excessive and distracting in Whylah Falls. She also notes the prominent musical elements in Whylah Falls.
Posted by Jesse at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)

July 06, 2003

Theory of transtextuality

Gérard Genette’s five subtypes of transtextuality provide a good basis for workable theory of transtextuality. The four subtypes of inter-, para-, archi-, and hypotextuality are particularly useful for critics of contemporary literature because they provide a convenient framework for effectively organizing the many instances of transtextuality in texts. In some contemporary texts, a thorough analysis of transtextuality would be very muddled without an organizing framework such as Genette’s.

Intertextuality is worth examining because the references to other texts affect the meaning of a primary text. Readers who know a secondary text bring that knowledge to bear on the primary text. When they read the primary text, their knowledge of other texts affects how they understand the primary text (there are many factors that influence the creation of meaning; knowledge of other texts is one significant factor). Furthermore, the study of intertextuality can identify submerged patterns, which may reinforce, subvert, or otherwise affect more obvious patterns. Examples of intertextuality are allusion, quotation, and plagiarism.

Paratextuality is becoming increasingly important, as contemporary writers blur the lines between text and extra-text. Consider typefaces: each typeface has a history, a creator (or creators), and a set of characteristics. The study of paratextuality acknowledges that the artifice that surrounds the text can be as important as the text itself. Examples of paratextuality are proems, colophons, dedications, typefaces, and type of paper.

Architextuality is a subtle, broad type of transtextuality. Instances of architextuality are important because they connect the primary texts with other texts through genre. M.H. Abrams succintly describes genre according to structuralists: “A genre is conceived as a set of constitutive conventions and codes, altering from age to age, but shared by a kind of implicit contract between writer and reader...In the reader, these conventions generate a set of expectations, which may be controverted rather than satisfied, but enable the reader to make he work intelligible – that is, to naturalize it, by relating it to the world as defined and ordered by codes in the prevailing culture”(109-10). In the primary text, conventions and codes that satisfy the reader’s expectations are instances of architextuality. Examples of architextuality are the division of a play into acts and scenes and the tragic flaw of the tragic hero.

Hypotextuality is worth studying for similar reasons. Where instances of architextuality satisfy the reader’s expectations, instances of hypotextuality controvert them. In self-conscious texts, hypotextuality may be more important than architextuality. Examples of hypotextuality are titling an act of a play and adding interjections to a play that are not stage directions.

The study of transtextuality, particularly of patterns of transtextuality, can yield important results for textual critics. Each reader is unique; each reader brings certain knowledge to the reading of a primary text, so the meaning of a text for a particular reader is a meaning of the text. Indeed, the meaning of a text for a particular reader changes over time, affected by memory, changes in knowledge of other texts, and life experience. The many factors involved in the creation of meaning by readers have been articulated by reader-response critics and others. The meaning of a text is not fixed, but, by studying transtextuality, the critic can identify an approximate set of levels of meaning. It is, however, misleading to think in vertical, linear terms such as levels. Fortunately, a branch of mathematics called graph theory provides a more accurate concept of transtextuality.

Transtextuality meets graph theory

Illustration of graph theory

“An edge connects two vertices; these two vertices are said to be incident to the edge. The valency (or degree ) of a vertex is the number of edges incident to it, with loops being counted twice. In the example graph vertices 1 and 3 have a valency of 2, vertices 2,4 and 5 have a valency of 3 and vertex 6 has a valency of 1. If Eis finite, then the total valency of the vertices is equal to twice the number of edges. In a digraph, we distinguish the out degree (=the number of edges leaving a vertex) and the in degree (=the number of edges entering a vertex). The degree of a vertex is equal to the sum of the out degree and the in degree.

“Two vertices are considered adjacent if an edge exists between them. In the above graph, vertices 1 and 2 are adjacent, but vertices 2 and 4 are not. The set of neighbors for a vertex consists of all vertices adjacent to it. In the example graph, vertex 1 has two neighbors: vertex 2 and node 5. For a simple graph, the number of neighbors that a vertex has coincides with its valency"(Graph Theory).

The mapping of graph theory terms to transtextuality is as follows:

  1. edge –> instance of transtextuality; you can have a paratextual edge
  2. vertex –> arbitrary unit of meaning (poem, phrase, chapter, whole text, word)
  3. valency –> degree of transtextuality (sum of out degree and in degree)
  4. loop –> instance of internal textual relationship (example, foreshadowing).
  5. adjacent –> connected via an edge
  6. in degree –> an instance of transtextuality from a secondary text to a primary text
  7. out degree –> an instance of transtextuality from a primary text to a secondary text

Summary

My theory of transtextuality, therefore, takes four of Genette’s five subtypes and combines them with the basic concepts of graph theory. Employing terms from graph theory simplifies the discussion and encourages a non-linear understanding of transtextuality. By quantifying transtextuality, even in an approximate manner, the textual critic can more easily identify significant patterns of transtextuality. It is a simple matter of comparing the valency of various vertices (by incorporating the subtypes of Genette, we are able to compare the valency by subtype of edge (intertextual edge, paratextual edge, etc)). This degree of granularity allows textual critics to make different comparisons based on the same data. Transtextuality is the study of possible meanings.

Posted by Jesse at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2003

Transtextuality

I had my third thesis meeting this morning. I wasn’t very productive in the past two weeks, partly because I had two papers – one on the importance of MPs on Parliament Hill and one on how technology can be used to lessen the social isolation of recent immigrants to Toronto – due today.

I’ve made a list of 177 different examples of transtextuality in Beatrice Chancy. These examples were organized into four categories: intertextual, paratextual, architextual, and hypotextual. These categories, developed by Gérard Genette, are outlined in an introductory essay on semiotics. Intertextual includes allusion, quotation, and plaigarism; paratextual includes prefaces, photographs, and dedications; architextual includes generic conventions, such as the division of a play into acts and scenes; and hypotextual includes genre innovation, parody, and satire.

Now that I am reasonably familiar with the primary texts, the focus for the next week will be on articulating a theory of transtextuality. This theory does not have to be original – it needs to be good. I will submit a 250 word theory of transtextuality next week.

Also, I will make a list of genres employed in the primary texts and research the conventions of those genres. Genre plays an important role in transtextuality because it connects a text to many other texts and the historical situation of those texts. In my discussion today with Dr. Warley, I discovered that my understanding of genre is fairly poor. While I have a good unconscious understanding of various genres, my conscious knowledge of the conventions of various genres – epic and lyric poetry, verse tragedy, drama, the novel, the short story, etc – is weak.

I am very enthusiastic about my thesis. In the next seven days, I will be working on the analytical framework for my thesis, rather than the specific instances of transtextuality in the primary texts. I may also do some research on the history of Blacks in Canada.

Posted by Jesse at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)