File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_1996/96-02-20.131, message 90


Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 19:38:01 -0800 (PST)
From: Ernest Stromberg <els-AT-darkwing.uoregon.edu>
Subject: Re: Immigrant Travelogues


Sorry if i bored you but i hardly see as the claim that there are no 
fictional texts to be tenable much less new or critically inightful.  
But i too may be in error 

On Wed, 17 Jan 1996, Antonio L Rappa wrote:

> 
> 
> this "inversion" of yours merely leads back to the common conventionality 
> that continues to dominate literature. in other words, it is rather old 
> hat. alright, i find such explanations boring. but of course i might 
> be mistaken.
> 
> On Wed, 17 Jan 1996, Ernest Stromberg wrote:
> 
> > I actually would describe this inversely: there are no "non-fictional" 
> > narratives as all narratives rely on metaphor and the imaginative 
> > techniques of imaginative writing or fiction. This makes all truth claims 
> > or texts aspiring to the designation "non-fiction" subject to the same 
> > interpretive claims applied to fiction.
> > Ernest 
> > 
> > On Tue, 16 Jan 1996, Antonio L Rappa wrote:
> > 
> > > One suggestion that might aid, or perhaps subvert, your project at the 
> > > onset is to realize that there are no fictional texts, all texts are 
> > > non-fictional. So in this case, Naipaul's An Islamic Journey would be as
> > >                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > appropriate as any other travelogue. We do not have to look very hard at 
> > > the language to see that he distances himself from the local Malaysians by 
> > > playing the part of a(n English) foreigner. But of course he is not 
> > > merely playing the part, but living it.
> > > 
> > > With best wishes from Honolulu
> > > 
> > > Antonio Rappa
> > > Dept of Political Science
> > > University of Hawaii at Manoa
> > > 
> > > 
> > >      --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> > > 
> > 
> > 
> >      --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>      --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> 


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