Collage novel is used by different writers and readers to describe three different kinds of

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

: 1) a form of

artist's book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that utilize the form of the book. They are often published in small editions, though they are sometimes produced as one-of-a-kind objects. Overview Artists' books have employed a ...

approaching closely (but preceding) the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

; 2) a

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...

that approaches "

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

" metaphorically, juxtaposing different modes of

original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

writing; and 3) a novel that approaches collage literally, incorporating found language and possibly combining other modes of original writing. In the first category,

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensio ...

s are selected from other publications and

d together following a theme or

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc ...

(not necessarily

linear Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

). In the second, different modes of writing written by a single author are blended together into a highly fragmentary narrative; no found language is used. In the third, language is often selected from multiple sources; the text might be composed entirely of found language, with no words of the author's own.

Surrealist collage novels

While it is unclear who coined the term, the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

ist and

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

is generally credited with inventing the collage novel, employing nineteenth-century engravings cut and pasted together to create new images. His works include ''Les Malheurs des immortels'' (1922), ''La Femme 100 Têtes'' (1929), ''Rêve d'une petite fille...'' (1930) and ''

Une Semaine de Bonté ''Une semaine de bonté'' ("A Week of Kindness") is a collage novel and artist's book by Max Ernst, first published in 1934. It comprises 182 images created by cutting up and re-organizing illustrations from Victorian encyclopedias and novel ...

'' (1933–1934). The text for ''Les Malheurs des immortels'' was written by

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

. Georges Hugnet was the author of the collage novel ''Le septième face du dé'' (1936).

Two types of literary collage novel

The leading theorists of literary collage novels in the 21st century are Jonathan Lethem and David Shields. Two of their essays, Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence" (2007) and Shields's ''Reality Hunger'' (2010), brought discussions on

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

originality Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

, and

inspiration Inspiration, inspire, or inspired often refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible * Creative inspirat ...

into the fiction and nonfiction worlds. They also popularized collage as a literary form, but employ the term "collage novel" in drastically different ways. In "The Ecstasy of Influence," Lethem uses "collage novel" to describe Eduardo Paolozzi's ''Kex,'' a text made entirely out of found language: "cobbled from crime novels and newspaper clippings." In his chapter in ''Reality Hunger'' on collage novels, Shields uses the term to describe Renata Adler's ''Speedboat,'' a fragmentary narrative that combines different modes of original writing. In Shields's words, ''Speedboat'' “captivates by its jagged and frenetic changes of pitch and tone and voice.” Adler “confides, reflects, tells a story, aphorizes, undercuts the aphorism, then undercuts that . . . She changes subjects like a brilliant schizophrenic, making irrational sense.” In this way, Shields uses "collage novel" to mean a text that is fragmentary, but does not contain any found language. In other essays, Shields uses "collage" to talk about texts that blend original and found language.

References

External links

Max Ernst graphic work at the Johannesburg Art Gallery
Artists' books Book arts Literary genres Novel {{Book-art-stub

Surrealist collage novels

Two types of literary collage novel

See also

References

External links