Collaborative Dubliners: Joyce in Dialogue

Enigmatic, vivid, and terse, James Joyce's Dubliners continues both to puzzle and to compel its readers. This collection of essays by thirty contributors from seven countries presents a revolutionary view of Joyce's technique and draws out its surprisingly contemporary implications by beginning with a single unusual premise: that meaning in Joyce's fiction is a product of engaged interaction between two or more people. Meaning is not dispensed by the author; rather, it is actively negotiated between involved and curious readers through the medium of a shared text. Here, pairs of experts on Joyce's work produce meaning beyond the text by arguing over it, challenging one another through it, and illuminating it with relevant facts about language, history, and culture. The result is not an authoritative interpretation of Joyce's collection of stories but an animated set of dialogues about Dubliners designed to draw the reader into its lively discussions. Contributors include: Derek Attridge, Jean-Michel Rabaté, Maud Ellmann, Anne Fogarty, Andrew Gibson, Carol Loeb Shloss, Joseph Valente

Author: Vicki Mahaffey
Publisher: Syracuse University Publications in Continuin
Published: 03/01/2012
Pages: 424
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.23lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.07w x 1.09d
ISBN: 9780815632696

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2012

About the Author
Vicki Mahaffey is professor of English literature and gender and women's studies at the University of Illinois. Her recent books include Modernist Literature: Challenging Fictions and States of Desire: Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and the Irish Experiment.