
Locating August Strindberg's Prose
Modernism, Transnationalism, and Setting
Anna Westerstahl Stenport(Author)
University of Toronto Press
2nd Edition
Will be published approx. on 1. November 2010
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-4426-4199-0 (ISBN)
Description
The setting of a novel is more than just an anonymous, interchangeable backdrop. In Locating August Strindberg's Prose, Anna Westerstahl Stenport argues that spatial setting is a key - though often neglected - tool for exploring the fundamentals of European literary modernism.
Stenport examines the importance of location by exploring the prose of Swedish exile August Strindberg (1849-1912), challenging previous studies of the author that have focused on identity and subject formation. Strindberg wrote in both Swedish and French, situating his stories in various places across Europe - from Berlin to the French countryside, the Austrian Alps, and Stockholm - to purposely destabilize concepts of national belonging, language, and literary history. Close readings of Strindberg's prose find that his boundary-challenging narratives redefine and rewrite the meaning of a marginal literary identity. By contextualizing Strindberg against other early modernists, including Kafka, Conrad, Rilke, and Breton, Stenport emphasizes the burgeoning transnationality of literature at the turn of the last century.
Stenport examines the importance of location by exploring the prose of Swedish exile August Strindberg (1849-1912), challenging previous studies of the author that have focused on identity and subject formation. Strindberg wrote in both Swedish and French, situating his stories in various places across Europe - from Berlin to the French countryside, the Austrian Alps, and Stockholm - to purposely destabilize concepts of national belonging, language, and literary history. Close readings of Strindberg's prose find that his boundary-challenging narratives redefine and rewrite the meaning of a marginal literary identity. By contextualizing Strindberg against other early modernists, including Kafka, Conrad, Rilke, and Breton, Stenport emphasizes the burgeoning transnationality of literature at the turn of the last century.
Reviews / Votes
'A long overdue contribution to our understanding of the Swedish author's instrumental role in devising transnational prose modernism...The concept of literary setting is central to Stenport's project of re-locating Strindberg's prose in the heart of European modernism.... The book's compelling argument will also inspire fresh contemporary translations of these texts, translations that will help us appreciate Strindberg's truly transnational contributions in our globalized world.' - Eszter Szalczer (Modernism/Modernity Volume 19:1:2012) 'A fascinating and substantial study of spatial setting in Strindberg's works, showing how settings can be used as a tool for exploring European literary modernism...Stenport writes in an elegant academic prose which contributes to making the book a pleasure to read.' - Lynn R.Wilkinson (Scandinavian Studies, Vol. 83: Summer 2011) 'A fascinating and substantial study of spatial setting in Strindberg's works, showing how settings can be used as a tool for exploring European literary modernism...Stenport writes in an elegant academic prose which contributes to making the book a pleasure to read.' - Kristina SjOEgren (Scandinavica Vol 50:2:2011) 'an insightful analysis... Recommended.' - H.I. Eisohn (CHOICE Magazine; vol 48:09:2011)More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
473 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4426-4199-0 (9781442641990)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Anna Westerstahl Stenport
Locating August Strindberg's Prose
Modernism, Transnationalism, and Setting
E-Book
12/2010
1st Edition
University of Toronto Press
€58.95
Available for download
Person
Anna Westerstahl Stenport is Associate Professor and Director of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Illinois. She is the author or editor of numerous publications about modern Scandinavian literature, culture, film, media, and drama, including Lukas Moodysson's Show Me Love (2012) and The International Strindberg: New Critical Essays (2012).
Content
Introduction
National Betrayal: Public, Private, and Railway Travel: A Madman's Defence
Rural Modernism: Ethnography, Photography, and Recollection: Among French Peasants
Parisian Streets, Pre-Surrealism, and Pastoral Landscapes: Inferno
Speed, Displacements, and Berlin Modernity: The Cloister
Recording, Habitation, and Colonial Imaginations: The Roofing Ceremony
National Betrayal: Public, Private, and Railway Travel: A Madman's Defence
Rural Modernism: Ethnography, Photography, and Recollection: Among French Peasants
Parisian Streets, Pre-Surrealism, and Pastoral Landscapes: Inferno
Speed, Displacements, and Berlin Modernity: The Cloister
Recording, Habitation, and Colonial Imaginations: The Roofing Ceremony