Contemporary Fiction, Celebrity Culture, and the Market for Modernism: Fictions of Celebrity

Contemporary celebrity authors position their work and public personae within a received modernist canon to claim and monetize its cultural capital in the lucrative market for literary fiction. This book argues that marketing and branding have redefined older models of literary influence and innovation, contributing to a growing body of criticism focused on contemporary literature. It proposes a materialist history of modernisms afterlives to address the material conditions that structure literary production and the generation of cultural capital.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 10 February 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Celebrity authors of the modern era, such as Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie, Eimear McBride, and Anna Burns, have positioned their work and public personae within a received modernist canon to claim and monetize its cultural capital in the lucrative market for literary fiction. This book also demonstrates how the corporate conditions of marketing and branding have redefined older models of literary influence and innovation. It contributes to a growing body of criticism focused on contemporary literature as a field in which the formal and stylistic experimentation that came to define a canon of early 20th-century modernism has been renewed, contested, and revised.

While this is a compelling thesis and one that rightly questions an artificial and problematic periodization that still lingers in academic criticism, those approaches generally fail to address the material conditions that structure literary production and the generation of cultural capital, whether in the historical development of modernism or its contemporary permutations. This book addresses this absence by proposing a materialist history of modernism's afterlives.

In the early 20th century, modernism emerged as a significant artistic movement that sought to break free from traditional artistic conventions and explore new ways of expressing ideas and emotions. Modernist writers and artists were known for their experimental and avant-garde approaches to literature, art, and music, which often challenged the status quo.

However, as time passed, modernism began to fade away, and its influence on contemporary culture was diminished. Many critics argue that modernism's legacy is still felt today, particularly in the work of contemporary celebrity authors who are positioning their work and public personae within a received modernist canon. These authors are seen as capitalizing on modernism's cultural capital by claiming its intellectual and artistic achievements as their own.

One of the key arguments made by critics of contemporary celebrity authors is that they are using modernism as a marketing tool to sell their books and gain attention. These authors are often seen as part of a new wave of modernism, which is characterized by a return to traditional forms and themes. However, critics argue that this new wave of modernism is not genuine, as it is driven by commercial interests rather than artistic ambition.

Another argument made by critics is that contemporary celebrity authors are not truly engaging with the legacy of modernism. Instead, they are simply appropriating its aesthetic and theoretical principles to suit their own purposes. This is seen as a form of cultural appropriation, which is the process of taking something from one culture and using it for one's own benefit without understanding or respecting its historical context.

Despite these criticisms, there are also those who celebrate contemporary celebrity authors for their contributions to modernism. These critics argue that these authors are reviving the spirit and expanding the imaginative possibilities for fiction in ways that have not been seen in a long time. They argue that these authors are challenging traditional notions of literary autonomy and authority

In conclusion, this book provides a valuable contribution to the growing body of criticism focused on contemporary literature as a field in which the formal and stylistic experimentation that came to define a canon of early 20th-century modernism has been renewed, contested, and revised. It demonstrates how the corporate conditions of marketing and branding have redefined older models of literary influence and innovation and how the material conditions that structure literary production and the generation of cultural capital have been neglected in academic criticism. By proposing a materialist history of modernism's afterlives, this book offers a new way of understanding the legacy of modernism and its impact on contemporary culture.

Weight: 528g
Dimension: 223 x 261 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350248564