Marks & Link papers (WisCon 31)
Academic Papers•Conference Room 3• Saturday, 9:00-10:15 p.m.
1) Extraordinary bodies abound in Marks’ Elemental Logic series: from the half-giant Karis to battle-scarred veterans. In each case, there are significant political overtones to the presence of these bodies. The political questions in the text are worked out not only through the narrative, but also in the relationships between bodies, through a series of intimate resistances and alliances on the most personal (and political) of fields. 2) This talk has two purposes: first, to elaborate on the concept of “being haunted” in Kelly Link’s two story collections, especially “Stone Animals” in Magic For Beginners; and second, to try to rethink influential theories of literary influence for a media-saturated, interstitial literary landscape.
Patrick J. O'Connor, Robert C. Spirko