| Grandchild of Empire: About Irony, Mainly in the Commonwealth Contributor(s): New, W. H. (Author) |
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ISBN: 155380001X ISBN-13: 9781553800019 Publisher: Ronsdale Press OUR PRICE: $11.66 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2003 Annotation: As W.H. New's Grandchild of Empire shows, irony is not dead, but has found fresh purpose. New looks at the politics of irony in modern writing and explains how it relates to imperial history, how it impacts upon personal memories, how it speaks from the margin, and how it indirectly teaches us to resist presumptuous authority. At the same time, W.H. New writes autobiographically, using the occasion to come to terms with the world of his father's youth and that of his own. Focusing on postcolonial poetry and prose, New establishes how irony speaks "about" -- from the outside. He emphasizes the importance of voice in communicating what irony has to say, the necessity of listening closely to how ironic literature speaks. And he draws his examples from around the world, ranging from Canada and the Caribbean to Africa, India and Australia. Funny, informed and emotionally engaging, Grandchild of Empire, an extension of the 2002 Sedgewick Lecture at the University of BC, demonstrates how writers have actively adapted the English language in order to undermine empty conventions of literary and political power, and to affirm, even in bleak times, self-esteem. Includes eight black and white illustrations and an index. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Canadian |
| Dewey: 820.991 |
| LCCN: 2003446317 |
| Physical Information: 0.26" H x 6.08" W x 9.06" (0.36 lbs) 96 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Canadian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Canada's foremost literary critic looks at the politics of irony in modern writing and explains how it relates to imperial history, how it impacts upon personal memories, how it speaks from the margin, and how it indirectly teaches us to resist presumptuous authority. Funny, informed and emotionally engaging, Grandchild of Empire, an extension of the 2002 Sedgewick Lecture at the University of BC, demonstrates how writers have actively adapted the English language in order to undermine empty conventions of literary and political power, and to affirm, even in bleak times, self-esteem. |
Contributor Bio(s): New, W. H.: - William New is one of Canada's outstanding men of letters. He is University Killam Professor in English Literature at the University of British Columbia and is the author and editor of over thirty volumes in the field of Canadian and postcolonial literature. For many years he was editor of the journal Canadian Literature. He is on the editorial board of the New Canadian Library and the editor of the monumental Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada (U of Toronto Press). He is also a poet and a writer of children's books. |