The Literature of Exhaustion
Encyclopedia
The Literature of Exhaustion is an influential 1967 essay by american novelist John Barth
, which is sometimes considered to be the manifesto
of postmodernism
.
The essay was highly influential, and for some, controversial. It depicted Literary realism
as a “used up” tradition; Barth's description of his own work, which many though that nailed a core trait of postmodernism, is “novels which imitate the form of a novel, by an author who imitates the role of Author”.
Barth argued that a particular stage in history was passing, and pointed to possible directions from there. He later (1980) wrote a follow-up essay, "The Literature of Replenishment."
; then it was first printed in The Atlantic in the same year; since then has been reprinted several times, and included in Barth's non-fiction collection The Friday Book (1984).
John Barth
John Simmons Barth is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work.-Life:...
, which is sometimes considered to be the manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
of postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
.
The essay was highly influential, and for some, controversial. It depicted Literary realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
as a “used up” tradition; Barth's description of his own work, which many though that nailed a core trait of postmodernism, is “novels which imitate the form of a novel, by an author who imitates the role of Author”.
Barth argued that a particular stage in history was passing, and pointed to possible directions from there. He later (1980) wrote a follow-up essay, "The Literature of Replenishment."
Publications
Barth first delivered it in 1967 as a lecture in a Peters Rushton Seminars held at the University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
; then it was first printed in The Atlantic in the same year; since then has been reprinted several times, and included in Barth's non-fiction collection The Friday Book (1984).
See also
- Borges' Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote