The myth of emptiness and the new American literature of place /
Harding, Wendy,author.
"In Under the Sign of Empty, Wendy Harding adopts a transdisciplinary perspective that draws on the theories of geographers, historians, sociologists, and philosophers to understand the reasons for the enduring perception of emptiness in the American landscape. In doing so, she identifies a recent trend in the literature of place that corrects the misperceptions resulting from this trope"--
"In Under the Sign of Empty, Wendy Harding adopts a transdisciplinary perspective that draws on the theories of geographers, historians, sociologists, and philosophers to understand the reasons for the enduring perception of emptiness in the American landscape. In doing so, she identifies a recent trend in the literature of place that corrects the misperceptions resulting from this trope"--
Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-237) and index.
Introduction: From empty spaces to storied places -- Part I: The idea of empty -- Placing the land under the sign of empty -- Creating the American nation from a vast and empty chaos -- Part II: Seeking new connections -- Becoming committed to place in Rich Bass's "Winter" -- The storied mountains of Charles Bowden's "Frog Mountain Blues" -- Suturing the map of the known universe in Ellen Meloy's "The Last cheater's Waltz" -- Part III: Retracing paths and reassessing emplacement -- The peopled shape of the land in Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land" -- Unsettling oppositions in Rebecca Solnit's "Savage Dreams" -- Robert Sullivan's reverse commute in "The Meadowlands" -- Conclusion: The void calls; earth calls back.
American literature
Emptiness (Philosophy) in literature.
Place (Philosophy) in literature.
Nature in literature.
Discourse analysis, Literary.