Some of you have been getting a bit shirty about my post on that. Thanks for proving my point! To wit:
"Everyone knows that nature writers are self-reflexive" means:
(1) You have admitted my basic observation. (Yet Ecocriticism is predicated precisely on denying it, viz Jonathan Bate's struggle against Hartman, who made the same claim about Wordsworth.)
(2) You are claiming that I shouldn't mention that nature writers are reflexive.
(3) (2) has the force of an injunction to be silent.
"Of course everyone KNOWS that x" just is a perfect example of postmodern rhetoric, a symptom of cynical reason.
And I'd go on to say that Wordsworth is the only one in the bunch who truly gets the Romantic irony involved in being explicit about narration.
Yet Wordsworth like Abbey hide the fact that a female amanuensis is nearby to inspire and transcribe their wilderness narration...
And like I say, when I first pointed this stuff out in 2007, I was threatened with physical violence. At least y'all are past the anger phase of grief...
5 comments:
thank you. Even though it's a bit of a jumble, I know what you're talking about and I agree. I've wanted to articulate similar ideas - you beat me to the punch!
thanks! I've been wanting to say something very similar for a while and you just gave me some of the language I needed. cheers!
Firstly, no-one said "everyone knows....." That would indeed be a silly thing to say.
Secondly, I think suggesting the responses "invoke an injunction to silence" is a little...melodramatic, maybe.
How would this injuction be imposed? And why is your reply also not then, in turn, some kind of injunction to silence?
Firstly, no-one said "everybody knows..." That would indeed be a silly thing to say.
Secondly, the suggestion that the replies represented an "injunction to silence" is a little....melodramatic, maybe.
And why is your reply not also then, in turn, an injuction to silence?
You couldn't possibly be the John who tried to set me up with Brenda Iijima could you? The John who coudln't *stand it when we didn't jump to your marching orders? Surely not!
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