Abstract
In 2021, Isabel Waidner was asked their opinion on the state of the so-called “conventional” novel. In response, they admitted, ‘I have come to think of the British novel as a technology for the reproduction of white middle-class values, aesthetics and a certain type of “acceptable” nationalism.’ This paper investigates the implications of such a position, examining how the assumptions and ideologies within literary fiction present challenges for those wishing to depict queerness. In particular, how are current literary genres failing to give an account of or depict the nuances of gender, and what would it mean to construct a literary form better suited for such a purpose? Drawing on Lauren Berlant and Lee Edelman’s work on normativity, the paper argues that the the “novel” is a fundamentally conservative form, one that imposes a coherence and linearity on subjectivity and meaning that is often antithetical to queer experience, and thus insufficient for conveying queer life. Using an analysis of New Narrative and the works of Renee Gladman and Paul B. Preciado, the paper shows that contemporary literary genres will simplify the lived experience of those it depicts. It then asks: What would it mean to construct a new genre for depicting queerness that recognises queerness as fundamentally a break from the usual narratives of coherence, respectability, and the social contract, one recognises that queerness cannot be cleanly held cleanly by narrative structure? Following Teagan Bradway’s analysis of contiguity, the paper offers a possible roadmap of how to construct this genre.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
New Narrative, Normative Fantasies, Queer Theory, Literary Fiction, Experimental, Fiction
