Resonant Connections: McLuhan and the New Literary Practice

Purcell, S. (2016) Resonant Connections: McLuhan and the New Literary Practice. The Toronto School: Then, Now, Next, Toronto, ON, Canada, 13-16 Oct 2016.

Abstract

This paper applies the key concepts of Marshall McLuhan’s co-authored posthumous works, The Laws of Media [1988] and The Global Village [1989], to new literary practice. Taking David Mitchell’s recent novel and Twitter work, Slade House [2015] and @I_Bombadil [2015], as a case study example of new literary practice, it demonstrates the need for a media-based perspective that addresses cross- and multi-media writing and accounts for the specificities of the medium as an inextricable part of the work itself. The “resonant connections” indicated by this paper’s title therefore operate on two distinct levels. Firstly, in applying McLuhan’s tetrad – his “laws of media” – to David Mitchell’s Slade House and @I_Bombadil, the way in which the author makes resonant connections between his works by extending his literary practice and threading it through the functional characteristics and structural biases of a newer medium is illuminated and articulated. Secondly, in applying the key concepts of McLuhan’s co-authored posthumous works to new literary practice, a critical vocabulary can be established that describes new methods and modes of experimental writing yet to be fully formulated in the field.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Published
• Refereed: No
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Purcell, Dr Stuart
• Authors: Purcell, S.
• Subjects: N Fine Arts > NE Print media; N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
• College/School: University Services > Learning and Teaching Services Division

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