Luncheon, June 8th, 11:30 a.m.
The Theme of Forms
and
the Form of Themes
with
Dr. Jason Ray Carney
Rocco's Smokehouse Grill
The Theme of Forms
and
the Form of Themes
with
Dr. Jason Ray Carney
Rocco's Smokehouse Grill
Dr. Jason Ray Carney, Senior Lecturer, Christopher Newport University, Department of English
In his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde refuted the idea that art should have a theme: "All art is quite useless," he asserts. "The type of all the arts is the art of the musician." In other words, for Wilde, literary artists should emulate composers of non-lyrical music and seek to create pure forms: beautiful but hollow linguistic artifacts without meaning and without theme. Wilde's claim is rhetorical, a grand pronouncement to make a less exciting, more commonsense, point: literary forms do not merely vehiculate themes--although they can and sometimes do. But how do they? Of course, writers don't bake literary pies to fill with thematic pudding. But is it nevertheless worth a writer's time to think about theme? And if a writer brings to mind a particular theme when composing, how might they artfully give form to that theme in a manner that harmonizes with their artistic vision? These questions and more will be explored in this brief presentation of literary history, theory, and praxis.
Bio: Jason Ray Carney is an author and a recognized expert of popular literature and pulp fiction. He earned his Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University. His monograph, Weird Tales of Modernity (McFarland, 2019), analyzes interwar science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Reviewing Carney's book, The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts stated, "Carney’s book is a valuable addition to the literature on its topic. It deserves a wide readership, and a prominent place in the scholarship of American fantastic literature in the early twentieth century." Carney is the Area Chair of the "Pulp Studies" section of the Popular Culture Association. In March of 2021, Carney guest edited a special issue of The Journal of American Culture on "pulp studies." Carney co-edits the academic journal, The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies. In addition to academic conferences ranging from the Modernist Studies Association to the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, Carney is a regular guest at various fan conventions, such as the San Diego Comic Con. Carney serves on several academic review boards for presses and journals and is a member of the Robert E. Howard Foundation.
In his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde refuted the idea that art should have a theme: "All art is quite useless," he asserts. "The type of all the arts is the art of the musician." In other words, for Wilde, literary artists should emulate composers of non-lyrical music and seek to create pure forms: beautiful but hollow linguistic artifacts without meaning and without theme. Wilde's claim is rhetorical, a grand pronouncement to make a less exciting, more commonsense, point: literary forms do not merely vehiculate themes--although they can and sometimes do. But how do they? Of course, writers don't bake literary pies to fill with thematic pudding. But is it nevertheless worth a writer's time to think about theme? And if a writer brings to mind a particular theme when composing, how might they artfully give form to that theme in a manner that harmonizes with their artistic vision? These questions and more will be explored in this brief presentation of literary history, theory, and praxis.
Bio: Jason Ray Carney is an author and a recognized expert of popular literature and pulp fiction. He earned his Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University. His monograph, Weird Tales of Modernity (McFarland, 2019), analyzes interwar science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Reviewing Carney's book, The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts stated, "Carney’s book is a valuable addition to the literature on its topic. It deserves a wide readership, and a prominent place in the scholarship of American fantastic literature in the early twentieth century." Carney is the Area Chair of the "Pulp Studies" section of the Popular Culture Association. In March of 2021, Carney guest edited a special issue of The Journal of American Culture on "pulp studies." Carney co-edits the academic journal, The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies. In addition to academic conferences ranging from the Modernist Studies Association to the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, Carney is a regular guest at various fan conventions, such as the San Diego Comic Con. Carney serves on several academic review boards for presses and journals and is a member of the Robert E. Howard Foundation.
