“Close Enough to One Another and Far Apart as Well”: The Intersection of Literature and History in Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark

Authors

  • Fernando Aparecido Poiana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v15i0.3596

Abstract

This article analyses the intersection of narrative and history in Seamus
Deane’s Reading in the Dark (1996). It uses the Benjaminian notions of memory, narration and experience to investigate how this novel creates a self through a language characterized by the absence of what it refers to. The analysis will eventually demonstrate that the tension between recollection and obliteration makes Literature and History converge as products of a narrative act.

Keywords: Seamus Deane; Reading in the Dark; literature and history.

Author Biography

  • Fernando Aparecido Poiana
    Fernando Aparecido Poiana graduated from IBILCE, UNESP (The State University of São Paulo), and studied Modern British and Irish Literature at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA, in the 2007 Fall term. He is currently conducting research on the intersection between memory, literature and History in Seamus Deane’s fiction for his Masters in Literary Theory, at IBILCE, UNESP, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Peter James Harris.

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Published

17-11-2013

Issue

Vol. 15 (2013): ABEI Journal 15

Section

Fiction

How to Cite

Poiana, F. A. (2013). “Close Enough to One Another and Far Apart as Well”: The Intersection of Literature and History in Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark. ABEI Journal, 15, 139-149. https://doi.org/10.37389/abei.v15i0.3596