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

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

: 1) a form of

artist's book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that engage with and transform the form of a book. Some are mass-produced with multiple editions, some are published in small editions, while others are produced as one-of-a-kind o ...

approaching closely (but preceding) the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

; 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 novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

that approaches "

collage Collage (, from the , "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 assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

" 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 or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

s are selected from other publications and

d together following a

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

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

(not necessarily

linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...

). 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 anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

ist and

Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

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'' (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 legal 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, ...

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 ...

, and

inspiration Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible * Inhalation, breathing in Inspiration and rel ...

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