David Feil: “What Nonsense Makes: The Order of Imagination in Beckett’s ‘Lessness’” October 29, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments David’s paper for the November 6th Evening Papers event, “What Nonsense Makes: The Order of Imagination in Beckett’s ‘Lessness’” will be available for download shortly.About David: Alison Fanous: “Imagining Geography in Sydney Owenson’s ‘The truth about enzyte Missionary.’” October 27, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Alison’s paper for the November 6th Evening Papers event, “Imagining Geography in Sydney Owenson’s ‘The Missionary’” will be available for download shortly.About Alison: UPDATE! New Time for Evening Papers: 8:30pm October 23, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Following discussion with those who attended the last Evening Papers session, the forum will now begin at 8:30pm. Special thanks are due to Dr. Maynard and his expert negotiating skills for keeping us safe and sound in Rm. 222 as we ran late during the October 16th presentations. If you have any comments regarding this change, please feel free to send them to eveningpapers@gmail.com October 19, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Thank you to everyone who attended our first and second sessions of Evening Papers this semester. Our third session will be held Thursday, November 6th, from 9-10:00pm in Room 222, and will feature presenters Alison Fanous and David Feil. Papers and all the rest to be posted shortly. October 15, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Trevor’s paper is now available for dowload here: “The Brink of a Volcano:” 20th Century Race Riots and the Discursive Violence of Race October 13, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Trevor Strunk’s paper for the October 16 forum will be available for download shortly; here are a bio and pic.About Trevor: Andrew Marzoni: “Medieval Pretext and Structural Oppositions in ‘The Nonexistent Knight’” October 13, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Andrew’s paper is now available for download here: Medieval Pretext and Structural Oppositions in ‘The Nonexistent Knight’ You may peruse Andrew’s abstract, too: Medieval Pretext and Structural Oppositions in The Nonexistent Knight”
This paper examines The Nonexistent Knight, the concluding novella of Italo Calvino’s trilogy, Our Ancestors, as a postmodern fairy-tale which uses medieval tropes and pretext to express Calvino’s structuralist views of literature and authorship. The novella focuses on Agilulf, a knight in Charlemagne’s army who, as the title suggests, is nothing more than a decorated suit of shining white armor. Agilulf is forced to prove his legitimacy when his position is questioned by the knight Torrismund, while Raimbaut, the story’s young hero, rides through Europe after his beloved Bradamante, a beautiful Amazon enamored by the nonexistent knight. As the three knights’ quests come to intertwine, the story’s narrator, the cloistered nun Sister Theodora, reveals her true identity as Bradamante, and the previously supposed ingenuity of the narrative comes into question. In his introduction to Our Ancestors, the 1960 publication of the trilogy of which The Nonexistent Knight, preceded by The Cloven Viscount and The Baron in the Trees, is the last installment, Calvino advises his reader to simply take pleasure in the fantastical irreverence of The Nonexistent Knight, admitting that he would approve of any interpretation of the stories in the trilogy offered by the reader. Thus, Calvino encourages his reader to describe - rather than find empirical meaning - in the text through the clear system of binary oppositions afforded to him through the use of medieval archetypes. In the novella’s tongue-in-cheek, medievalist musing on the nature of modern existence, Calvino asks Barthesian questions about literature’s supposed reality and the writer’s function in attempts to represent the world. October 6, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Andrew’s paper for the October 16 forum will be available for download shortly; here are a bio and pic.About Andrew: October 16, 2008: Andrew Marzoni and Trevor Strunk October 1, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Andrew Marzoni and Trevor Strunk will be presenting at our next forum, Thursday, October 16, from 9-10:00 pm. Room, papers, and bios to be posted. September 22, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments Evening Papers is proud to announce the creation of two book stipend awards for best papers presented at the forum. These awards, of $100 each, will be distributed in Spring 2009. Papers are judged by PhD students on the Graduate English Organization, as well as forum conveners. |