Haunted Writing
Storytelling from the Borders of Fiction and Nonfiction
Will be published approx. on 18. February 2027
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-350-56004-8 (ISBN)
Description
Exploring current debates in creative writing about the borders between fiction and creative nonfiction, this collection of essays draws on concepts of the uncanny and hauntology to challenge, subvert and transgress the boundary between forms. Hauntology, as originally defined by Derrida, challenges the certainties of ontology, in a similar way to debates about truth in creative nonfiction; by bringing together authors that undermine the fiction/nonfiction binary, Haunted Writing considers the ways in which real events and experiences haunt writers as they craft their work. Offering insight into how the past - both personal and historical - is experienced and understood in the present, this book includes writing from a diverse group of established and emerging authors who situate their work on genre boundaries and discuss their own creative practice to show how their writing 'haunts' real events.
With essays covering a range of ideas from subjectivity, intersectionality and challenging dominant versions of history, to braiding personal and researched stories, playfulness, experimentation and creating stories from archival documents, this beautifully written collection intervenes in contemporary discussions in creative writing and culture surrounding ownership, appropriation and ethics. Bringing a fresh voice and new perspectives to ever-present questions within creative writing, Haunted Writing uncovers how the past is a spectre that disrupts contemporary writing.
With essays covering a range of ideas from subjectivity, intersectionality and challenging dominant versions of history, to braiding personal and researched stories, playfulness, experimentation and creating stories from archival documents, this beautifully written collection intervenes in contemporary discussions in creative writing and culture surrounding ownership, appropriation and ethics. Bringing a fresh voice and new perspectives to ever-present questions within creative writing, Haunted Writing uncovers how the past is a spectre that disrupts contemporary writing.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
15 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
503 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-56004-8 (9781350560048)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Helen Pleasance is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature at York St. John University, UK. Her research interests include Contemporary Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction in all its forms, especially memoir, biography and true crime. She has published on the memoir form and narrative constructions of the Moors murders, as well as writing fiction and creative nonfiction. She is currently researching how domestic needlecraft shaped women's lives in the twentieth century.
Robert Edgar is Professor of Writing and Popular Culture in the York Centre for Writing based in the School of Humanities at York St John University, UK. He has published on Screenwriting (2009), Directing Fiction (2009), The Language of Film (Bloomsbury, 2010 and 2015), The Music Documentary (2013), The Arena Concert (Bloomsbury, 2015), Music, Memory and Memoir (Bloomsbury, 2019), Adaptation for Scriptwriters (Bloomsbury, 2019), and Venue Stories (2023). He is co-editing the forthcoming Bloomsbury publication, Horrifying Children: Hauntology and the Legacy of Children's Fiction.
Robert Edgar is Professor of Writing and Popular Culture in the York Centre for Writing based in the School of Humanities at York St John University, UK. He has published on Screenwriting (2009), Directing Fiction (2009), The Language of Film (Bloomsbury, 2010 and 2015), The Music Documentary (2013), The Arena Concert (Bloomsbury, 2015), Music, Memory and Memoir (Bloomsbury, 2019), Adaptation for Scriptwriters (Bloomsbury, 2019), and Venue Stories (2023). He is co-editing the forthcoming Bloomsbury publication, Horrifying Children: Hauntology and the Legacy of Children's Fiction.
Content
Foreword
Introduction - by the editors
Section One: Haunting Documents
1. "His Melancholy Decease": the haunted archive and its fictional afterlives in a meandering history of Peel Park, Salford. Ursula Hurley, University of Salford.
2. Echoing through the Archive: Poetry as Archival Intervention. Chloe Hanks, York St John University
3. Co-authoring with forgotten voices: remix-writing as a methodology to reimagine lost lives. Clare Harvey, Coventry University.
4. The Norgesian Mind Manifold Memories Await Us. Kirsten Norrie, Independent Writer.
Section Two: Haunting Places
5. At the Threshold: the uncanny meeting point of family history and the short story. Helen Pleasance York St John University.
6. Haunting Lives: Spectres in the Shadows. Emma Kirby, Cardiff University.
7. Between the Chain Links: Geopoetic Expression as Crossing-Point. R.L. Francis, University of Wolverhampton.
8. Iter II. Anthony Cartwright University of the West of England.
Section Three: Haunting Others
9. My Vanishing Twin and The Mirrored Reality that Sings: Ghosts of Those Who Never Came to Be. Anayis N. Der Hakopian, Independent Writer.
10. The Pretenders: Phantoms and Intergenerational Trauma. Francesca Liauw, Independent Writer.
11. Bringing the Dead Back to Life: the challenges of authenticity in creative nonfiction Toby Norways, University of Bedfordshire.
12. Method Writing: a performative approach to blend fiction and nonfiction in a roman-a-clef. Keren Poliah, University of Salford.
Section Four: Haunting Selves
13. The Double as Other: The Ethics of Autofictional Self-Encounters. Natasha Bell, Goldsmiths University.
14. Haunted Bodies in Breast Cancer Autopathography: Blue Breast. Michelle Ryan, Universite d'Angers.
15. Haunting Motherhood: Autotheory as borderless writing. Lynley Edmeades University of Otago.
16. Joshua in the Sky: writing in the borderland. Rodge Glass, University of Strathclyde.
17. Narrative Aporias and Lost Futures. Robert Edgar, York St John University
Bibliography
Index
Introduction - by the editors
Section One: Haunting Documents
1. "His Melancholy Decease": the haunted archive and its fictional afterlives in a meandering history of Peel Park, Salford. Ursula Hurley, University of Salford.
2. Echoing through the Archive: Poetry as Archival Intervention. Chloe Hanks, York St John University
3. Co-authoring with forgotten voices: remix-writing as a methodology to reimagine lost lives. Clare Harvey, Coventry University.
4. The Norgesian Mind Manifold Memories Await Us. Kirsten Norrie, Independent Writer.
Section Two: Haunting Places
5. At the Threshold: the uncanny meeting point of family history and the short story. Helen Pleasance York St John University.
6. Haunting Lives: Spectres in the Shadows. Emma Kirby, Cardiff University.
7. Between the Chain Links: Geopoetic Expression as Crossing-Point. R.L. Francis, University of Wolverhampton.
8. Iter II. Anthony Cartwright University of the West of England.
Section Three: Haunting Others
9. My Vanishing Twin and The Mirrored Reality that Sings: Ghosts of Those Who Never Came to Be. Anayis N. Der Hakopian, Independent Writer.
10. The Pretenders: Phantoms and Intergenerational Trauma. Francesca Liauw, Independent Writer.
11. Bringing the Dead Back to Life: the challenges of authenticity in creative nonfiction Toby Norways, University of Bedfordshire.
12. Method Writing: a performative approach to blend fiction and nonfiction in a roman-a-clef. Keren Poliah, University of Salford.
Section Four: Haunting Selves
13. The Double as Other: The Ethics of Autofictional Self-Encounters. Natasha Bell, Goldsmiths University.
14. Haunted Bodies in Breast Cancer Autopathography: Blue Breast. Michelle Ryan, Universite d'Angers.
15. Haunting Motherhood: Autotheory as borderless writing. Lynley Edmeades University of Otago.
16. Joshua in the Sky: writing in the borderland. Rodge Glass, University of Strathclyde.
17. Narrative Aporias and Lost Futures. Robert Edgar, York St John University
Bibliography
Index