Canning, R. (2014) James Purdy’s notions of childhood in the 1960s: a historical and contextual consideration. Invited Presentation presented to: American Literary Association Annual Conference 2014: James Purdy Society Panel: The 1960s and James Purdy, Washington DC, 22-25 May 2014. (Unpublished)
This is the latest version of this item.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Invited Presentation) |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | This paper considers three works of fiction written and published by James Purdy either in the early 1960s or immediately before – Malcolm (1959), The Nephew (1961) and Children is All (1963), each of which featured the representation of children and childhood, an aspect of his writings which has always generated considerable critical controversy and comment, including in respect of questions of sexuality and sexual instinct, but with reference to many other factors too, including regionality, culture, notions of the family, religion, ethics and nationality, and the formal function of diverse forms of humour, and of literary form, including the cultural presuppositions and tropes of the “tragic” and Purdy’s accommodation of acts of violence in particular. If the presence of children poses questions for readers of Purdy’s work, destabilising and reconfiguring traditional narratives and undermining readerly presumptions about what to expect in “literary fiction”, it does so nowhere more strongly that in the period 1955-1965 – a period in which, it would seem, the animus guiding Purdy towards writing reflected the title of his play, and a volume of the same name, Children is All. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | James Purdy, Malcolm, The Nephew, Children Is All, children |
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PS American literature > PS700 Individual authors > PS3500 1900-1960 |
| Creators: | Canning, Richard |
| Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: |
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Education & Humanities > English and Creative Writing University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for Critical and Creative Writing Faculties > Faculty of Education & Humanities > English and Creative Writing Research Centres > Centre for Critical and Creative Writing |
| Date: | 25 May 2014 |
| Date Type: | Presentation |
| Event Title: | American Literary Association Annual Conference 2014: James Purdy Society Panel: The 1960s and James Purdy |
| Event Dates: | 22-25 May 2014 |
| Event Location: | Washington DC |
| Event Type: | Conference |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | Unpublished |
| Refereed: | No |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/7291 |
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- James Purdy’s notions of childhood in the 1960s: a historical and contextual consideration. (deposited 16 Mar 2015 11:37) [Currently Displayed]
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