Violent dwellings and vulnerable creatures in Burning Elvis and Something Like Happy

Campbell, A. (2020) Violent dwellings and vulnerable creatures in Burning Elvis and Something Like Happy. In: Davies, B. (ed.) John Burnside: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Series: Contemporary critical perspectives. Bloomsbury Academic: London, pp. 53-67. ISBN 9781350036970

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Publisher's URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/john-burnside-9781350036970/

Abstract

From his novels to his memoirs, John Burnside’s prose works are marked by acts of startling cruelty: savage beatings, drunken dentistry, senseless stabbings and tortured bodies are staple elements of his narrative worlds and emerge in stark contrast to his more bucolic poetic ruminations. This chapter examines the ecological and ethical impulses behind these disturbed visions of home, focusing on the use of violence across his two short story collections Burning Elvis (2000) and the award-winning Something Like Happy (2013). In tracing the dangerous dimensions of habitats that are both threatened and threatening, Burnside’s violent dwellings emerge as vital entry points into ecological questions of responsibility, kinship and vulnerability.

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Campbell, Dr Alexandra
Authors: Campbell, A.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
Publisher:Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN:9781350036970

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