Submissions are invited for a collection of essays on the contemporary
extreme. The volume will deal with novels whose styles or themes engage a
hyper real, often apocalyptic, world progressively invaded by popular culture,
permeated with technology, and dominated by destruction. In this world,
violence – often the only stable element – operates as ethos. Entries may
include, but are by no means limited to, novelists such as Cathy Acker, Nelly
Arcan, Frédéric Beigbeder, Rafael Chaparro Madiedo, Marie Darrieussecq, Don
DeLillo, Virginie Despentes, Bret Easton Ellis, Lucía Etxebarría, Alberto
Fuguet, Michel Houllebecq, Orly Kastel-Bloom, Patrícia Melo, Mian Mian,
Catherine Millet, Chuck Palahniuk, Viktor Pelevine, Jacinto Lucas Pires, José
Edmundo Paz-Soldán, Weihui, Eimi Yamada. These authors are often classified as
writers of 'hip' or 'underground' literature; paradoxically, their work has
often been the center of public controversy and scandal and/or have become
international best sellers. The objective of this volume is to investigate the
appeal of these novels' styles and themes, the reasons behind their success,
and the fierce debates they provoked. Essays should be around 20 pages in
length, MLA style, English only. Send proposals or complete manuscripts by 17
December 2004 to the editors: Alain-Philippe Durand (adurand_at_uri.edu), or
Naomi Mandel (mandel_at_uri.edu).

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Received on Tue Feb 17 2004 - 23:26:37 EST