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Literary Collections Essays

The Edge of the Precipice

Why Read Literature in the Digital Age?

edited by Paul Socken

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2013
Category
Essays
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773589889
    Publish Date
    Sep 2013
    List Price
    $100.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780773541788
    Publish Date
    Aug 2013
    List Price
    $50.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780773542501
    Publish Date
    Aug 2014
    List Price
    $28.95

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Description

Can a case be made for reading literature in the digital age? Does literature still matter in this era of instant information? Is it even possible to advocate for serious, sustained reading with all manner of social media distracting us, fragmenting our concentration, and demanding short, rapid communication?

In The Edge of the Precipice, Paul Socken brings together a thoughtful group of writers, editors, philosophers, librarians, archivists, and literary critics from Canada, the US, France, England, South Africa, and Australia to contemplate the state of literature in the twenty-first century. Including essays by outstanding contributors such as Alberto Manguel, Mark Kingwell, Lori Saint-Martin, Sven Birkerts, Katia Grubisic, Drew Nelles, and J. Hillis Miller, this collection presents a range of perspectives about the importance of reading literature today.

The Edge of the Precipice is a passionate, articulate, and entertaining collection that reflects on the role of literature in our society and asks if it is now under siege.

Contributors include Michael Austin (Newman University), Sven Birkerts (author), Stephen Brockmann (Carnegie-Mellon University), Vincent Giroud (University of Franche-Comté), Katia Grubisic (poet), Mark Kingwell (University of Toronto), Alberto Manguel (author), J. Hillis Miller (University of California, Irvine), Drew Nelles (editor-in-chief, Maisonneuve), Keith Oatley (University of Toronto), Ekaterina Rogatchevskaia (British Library), Leonard Rosmarin (Brock University), Lori Saint-Martin (translator), Paul Socken (University of Waterloo), and Gerhard van der Linde (University of South Africa).

About the author

Paul Socken is distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of French Studies at the University of Waterloo.

Paul Socken's profile page

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