Tag Archives: Theory of publishing

On the Road (original scroll edition) by Jack Kerouac: paper versus oblivion

Posted on 14 May 2013 by

What was Kerouac trying to do by typing this early version of his classic novel on 120 feet of long strips of paper joined together with tape? How and why does this strange writing technique change what we feel about … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Publishers’ Holy Grail IV

Posted on 16 December 2011 by

I have been trying in the three previous Harry Potter posts to look at what went right with J. K. Rowling’s book series. In the first half of this final wildly ambitious post I’m attempting to get somewhere near a theory … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Publishers’ Holy Grail III

Posted on 12 December 2011 by

Does it matter what an author or publisher intends? What about how their work or product is received? Perhaps the most interesting question is the combination of the two, the problem some authors and all commercial companies (including mine) try … Continue reading →

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‘A page of good prose remains invincible’ 2

Posted on 8 December 2011 by

Craig Raine’s title poem ‘A Martian Sends a Postcard Home’ (Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 1) is an attempt at ‘making strange’ the old-known so it becomes the new-known. We look at the world through the eyes of an alien. If … Continue reading →

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Page against the machine 1 – Derrida and the great CD-ROM disaster

Posted on 21 November 2011 by

While the form of the ‘book’ is now going through a period of general upheaval, and while that form now appears less natural, and its history less transparent than ever, and while one cannot tamper with it without disturbing everything … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Publishers’ Holy Grail II

Posted on 12 October 2011 by

In my previous post I suggested that the most successful publishing reflects back to us – at some level – our deepest preoccupations, perhaps ones we don’t even know about; perhaps there are some we don’t want to know about. … Continue reading →

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