I saw Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson on Twitter) speak last night at the Sidwell Friends Meeting Room here in DC.
Listening to him speak was food for the soul.
He had a cold and had done 21 (not a typo) radio interviews yesterday, and he apologized for being hoarse. Everyone who got up to ask questions thanked him for talking to us. Even that seemed too little.
He spoke for about 10 minutes about his new novel Seveneves, of which I now own a signed copy, and read an excerpt. The next 50 minutes were solid questions. No one had anything really difficult to ask him, though he did note occasionally that a question was interesting, such as the one a gentleman asked about where and how he saw himself in his own stories, eg, as a character, an observer, or what. Apparently Stephenson had never been asked anything like that before, because his reply was thoughtful yet inconclusive; it seems that he positions himself as an invisible observer more than anything.
I also got my copy of Cryptonomicon autographed. It's the #2 book behind Moby-Dick in my list of all-time favorites, and now it's a real treasure because he added "To Heather" above his name. I asked him if he still did historical fencing, and he said that he does it 3-4 times per week. He has dark, Gaelic looks, yet his eyes are very kind.
I'm also still reading in The Hastur Cycle and waiting to hear if my abstract has been accepted for NecronomiCon Providence.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Where I'm going:
I have been flailing with figuring out where to start writing this thing. No luck. I've written three pages of outlines in my notebook, still no luck. I reread the scholarship notes I'd made a few weeks ago. You get it.
Then I wrote
Where I'm going:
And here's what I discovered.
I'm going to take my audience through a brief review of two unlikely writers of investigation--Poe, who did it consciously, and Chambers, who did it as a consequence of his other narrative strategies--into a brief review of some 20th-century elements of detective fiction, ranging from the gumshoe to the ineffective detective. I'll then talk about the epistemology of investigation and how that leads into an aesthetics of investigation. From there, I'll discuss how the dominant tropes of detective fiction help shape that aesthetics of investigation with regard to the aesthetics of crime, investigation, and redemption. Next will come the definition of the artist-investigator, along with how Chambers, Lovecraft, and Cohle and Hart in True Detective are aligned with that definition. I'll wrap up by taking questions.
I think what I have in my notebook is everything without connections, and writing that paragraph helped me establish them.
Then I wrote
Where I'm going:
And here's what I discovered.
I'm going to take my audience through a brief review of two unlikely writers of investigation--Poe, who did it consciously, and Chambers, who did it as a consequence of his other narrative strategies--into a brief review of some 20th-century elements of detective fiction, ranging from the gumshoe to the ineffective detective. I'll then talk about the epistemology of investigation and how that leads into an aesthetics of investigation. From there, I'll discuss how the dominant tropes of detective fiction help shape that aesthetics of investigation with regard to the aesthetics of crime, investigation, and redemption. Next will come the definition of the artist-investigator, along with how Chambers, Lovecraft, and Cohle and Hart in True Detective are aligned with that definition. I'll wrap up by taking questions.
I think what I have in my notebook is everything without connections, and writing that paragraph helped me establish them.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
The map and the mask.
This may be the overarching metaphor for this book.
The mask: Chambers, The King in Yellow, and True Detective ("Who Goes There?" and the unmaskings in Chambers)
The map: Lovecraft and True Detective (palimpsest)
(source: radarman.deviantart.com/art/Hastur-the-King-in-Yellow-42177576)
Back to the paper outline:
Brief review of detective fiction and tropes
The investigator in HP Lovecraft
The artist-investigator
defined
epistemology of investigation
Brief review of Chambers's artists as detectives
Brief review of HP Lovecraft's investigators as detectives
Aesthetics
aesthetics of crime
aesthetics of redemption
The artist-investigator in True Detective
After another glass of Sauvignon blanc and a few more minutes' thought, here's an improved outline:
Review of detective fiction
gentleman-investigator/consulting detective
gumshoe
investigator as failed investigator/criminal
impossibility of solving crimes/escaping criminal
Tropes
visual metaphors
priest/criminal/community as dominant figure
concealment metaphors
palimpsest metaphors
atonement metaphors
Artist-investigator
Chambers: artist as gumshoe
epistemology of investigator: investigation as a way of knowing
HP Lovecraft's investigators
artistic sensibilities
investigators as artist types
Aesthetics
aesthetics of crime defined
aesthetics of redemption defined
aesthetics of investigation -> artist-investigator
True Detective
artist-investigator defined
Chambers in True Detective
HP Lovecraft in True Detective
Conclusion
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Deriving a book outline.
Yes, I have a previous post that is an exploration of a book outline. Now that the abstract is done, I can pull an abstract from its contents.
--
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
In this talk, a review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, will show how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This talk, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
--
Deriving a rough outline from this:
Introduction: Tropes and conventions in detective fiction; the world of the investigator
Part I: The artist as investigator in Robert W. Chambers
Part II: The investigator as both artist and scientist in HP Lovecraft
Part III: The artist-investigator
Part IV: True Detective via Chambers and Lovecraft
Conclusion
That's very, very preliminary.
--
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
In this talk, a review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, will show how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This talk, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
--
Deriving a rough outline from this:
Introduction: Tropes and conventions in detective fiction; the world of the investigator
Part I: The artist as investigator in Robert W. Chambers
Part II: The investigator as both artist and scientist in HP Lovecraft
Part III: The artist-investigator
Part IV: True Detective via Chambers and Lovecraft
Conclusion
That's very, very preliminary.
Final work on the abstract.
SILENCE. I know I said last night that I was probably done.
Revision 6:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(265 words, not counting this count marker)
I think this may be it. I feel this niggling urge to add something about the epistemology of investigation to the final paragraph, but that may not be necessary for this abstract.
Revision 7:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
In this talk, a review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, will show how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(269 words, not counting this count marker)
I think I'm really, really close on this version.
See, the hard part begins after this: the book chapters. So I diddle with the abstract. But hey, it needed diddling, or something.
Revision 6:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(265 words, not counting this count marker)
I think this may be it. I feel this niggling urge to add something about the epistemology of investigation to the final paragraph, but that may not be necessary for this abstract.
Revision 7:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre. Without the investigator, without some figure fortified by curiosity and determination, much of the work of HP Lovecraft would not have been possible.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is most often used in theater--and then only by a few groups--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. These are critical omissions.
In this talk, a review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, will show how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(269 words, not counting this count marker)
I think I'm really, really close on this version.
See, the hard part begins after this: the book chapters. So I diddle with the abstract. But hey, it needed diddling, or something.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
What may actually be the final draft of the abstract.
So here's revision 4:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and, in fact, going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today.
That investigator has become the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in that discipline. It is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
Revision 5:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has now evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(243 words, not counting this count marker)
I'm now at the point of making minor word-level changes, so I'll let this rest. This may actually be it.
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and, in fact, going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today.
That investigator has become the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in that discipline. It is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
Revision 5:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and tracing back to the Biblical Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to change within the genre.
In the HBO series True Detective, the investigator has now evolved into the "artist-investigator." This term is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe an artist, employed by a theater company, who pushes against theater's current boundaries. Noteworthy is that the term is not used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address the artist-investigator as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, along with a discussion of True Detective, shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of character derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the above elements, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(243 words, not counting this count marker)
I'm now at the point of making minor word-level changes, so I'll let this rest. This may actually be it.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Revised abstract.
This post is going to have multiple updates tonight. Hold on to yer hat, cowboy.
Revision 1:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
The term "artist-investigator" is used to describe someone working in the arts, especially theater, who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology.
In this paper, I review selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, showing how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character is based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pitting the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the links among Chambers, Lovecraft, detective fiction, and True Detective, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(196 words, not counting this count marker)
The last graf needs work.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
Yep, that's better. Here's the abstract in full, revision 2:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and in fact going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
That step is the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used to describe someone working in the arts, especially theater, who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(203 words, not counting this count marker)
Revision 3:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and in fact going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
That step is the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(227 words, not counting this count marker)
Revision 4:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and, in fact, going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today.
That investigator has become the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in that discipline. It is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
Revision 1:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
The term "artist-investigator" is used to describe someone working in the arts, especially theater, who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology.
In this paper, I review selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, showing how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character is based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pitting the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper, by closely examining the links among Chambers, Lovecraft, detective fiction, and True Detective, sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(196 words, not counting this count marker)
The last graf needs work.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
Yep, that's better. Here's the abstract in full, revision 2:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and in fact going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
That step is the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used to describe someone working in the arts, especially theater, who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(203 words, not counting this count marker)
Revision 3:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and in fact going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today. The HBO series True Detective presents us with another step in the development of the investigator.
That step is the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in the discipline. However, it is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(227 words, not counting this count marker)
Revision 4:
The investigator as a literary figure is a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (and, in fact, going back to Daniel and the story of Bel and the Dragon in the Bible, the first locked room mystery), the investigator changed radically in 20th-century detective fiction--moving from amateur to professional, investigator to criminal--and continues to do so today.
That investigator has become the artist-investigator. The term "artist-investigator" is used in theater studies--and then only by a select group--to describe someone who pushes against established boundaries in that discipline. It is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation or the figure employing that epistemology, nor does the extant body of detective fiction criticism address this figure as part of its canon. This is a critical omission.
A review of selected works by Robert W. Chambers and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions shows how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from atelier fiction, weird fiction, and detective fiction. This new character, based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pits the artistic sensibilities of the detective against those of the criminal. This paper sheds new light on the little-recognized figure of the artist-investigator.
(249 words, not counting this count marker)
Monday, May 11, 2015
Toward an abstract.
Because, you know, the due date is May 23rd.
First revision of the most recent abstract paragraph:
Now, to make it into an abstract:
First revision of the most recent abstract paragraph:
The artist-investigator, the inheritor of the worlds of Chambers and Lovecraft, amplifies the powers of the traditional investigator, permitting him to access the world of the criminal through the aesthetics of the crime. These aesthetics must be explicated by one who recognizes and understands what the criminal has constructed via the event and the crime scene. Without this insight into the criminal's sensitivities, motives, and actions--which form the core of an aesthetic--the community cannot be redeemed, its freedom cannot be purchased, because the criminal will not be caught. Thus, the aesthetic of redemption is available only via the artist-investigator. This new kind of investigator, combining elements of the traditional investigator with a vision shaped by the aesthetics of crime and redemption, places the first season of True Detective firmly in the weird fiction tradition.But that's not really an abstract, is it. It's an opening paragraph for a chapter, or perhaps an abstract for a chapter.
Now, to make it into an abstract:
The figure of the detective, or investigator, has been a contentious one. Born out of traditions established by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the figure changed radically in 20th century detective fiction and continues to do so today. The term "artist-investigator" has typically been used to describe someone working in the arts to push the boundaries of what is currently known. It is not typically used to describe an epistemology of investigation. In this paper, I review the work laid down by both Chambers, author of The King in Yellow, and HP Lovecraft through the lens of detective fiction tropes and conventions, showing how the investigators in True Detective are a new kind of detective derived from both weird fiction and detective fiction. This new character is based on the aesthetics of crime and redemption, pitting the artistic sensibilities of the detective and the criminal against each other. In so doing, this paper sheds new light on the little-recognized issue of the artist-investigator.That's a first draft, no revision. I'll let it simmer overnight and work on it more tomorrow.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
So here's the idea.
From the outline post:
Full paragraph of thesis idea, induced by Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature": The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. (50)
Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. (51)
--
The aesthetic of redemption needs to go in here somewhere. I'm working in inventor's notebook No. 2.
--
The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. The aesthetic of redemption in True Detective is available only via the artist-investigator. Without the artist-investigator, the community cannot be redeemed through the capture of the criminal. The aesthetic of the crime has to be investigated by someone who can recognize and understand the aesthetic; this is the artist-investigator. Only an artist-investigator, in the tradition of Chambers and Lovecraft, can catch Errol Childress.
--
Man, this thesis sorting stuff is messy and recursive.
--
The artist-investigator, a figure evolved from the work of Chambers and Lovecraft, amplifies the powers of the investigator, permitting the investigator to access the world of the criminal through the aesthetic of the crime. In addition to the aesthetic of crime, the aesthetic of redemption is available only via the artist-investigator. The aesthetic of the crime must be investigated by someone who can recognize and understand the aesthetic the criminal has constructed via the event and the crime scene. Without this understanding, the community cannot be redeemed, its freedom cannot be purchased, because the criminal cannot be caught. This new kind of investigator, combining the artist and the investigator through the aesthetics of crime and redemption, places the first season of True Detective firmly in the weird fiction tradition.
--
Hrm. That might work.
Full paragraph of thesis idea, induced by Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature": The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. (50)
Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. (51)
--
The aesthetic of redemption needs to go in here somewhere. I'm working in inventor's notebook No. 2.
--
The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. The aesthetic of redemption in True Detective is available only via the artist-investigator. Without the artist-investigator, the community cannot be redeemed through the capture of the criminal. The aesthetic of the crime has to be investigated by someone who can recognize and understand the aesthetic; this is the artist-investigator. Only an artist-investigator, in the tradition of Chambers and Lovecraft, can catch Errol Childress.
--
Man, this thesis sorting stuff is messy and recursive.
--
The artist-investigator, a figure evolved from the work of Chambers and Lovecraft, amplifies the powers of the investigator, permitting the investigator to access the world of the criminal through the aesthetic of the crime. In addition to the aesthetic of crime, the aesthetic of redemption is available only via the artist-investigator. The aesthetic of the crime must be investigated by someone who can recognize and understand the aesthetic the criminal has constructed via the event and the crime scene. Without this understanding, the community cannot be redeemed, its freedom cannot be purchased, because the criminal cannot be caught. This new kind of investigator, combining the artist and the investigator through the aesthetics of crime and redemption, places the first season of True Detective firmly in the weird fiction tradition.
--
Hrm. That might work.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Is there an aesthetics of redemption?
Yes, I quite agree. That's one of my typically oddball questions.
If there's an aesthetics of crime, and my reading in the area so far indicates that there very much is (see, eg, critical works on Oscar Wilde by Simon Joyce), then surely there's an aesthetics of investigation and an aesthetics of redemption.
Aesthetics. Αισθητική.
The work of the investigator is essentially restorative and preservative. With a successful investigation, the detective restores order and preserves the status quo. Interestingly, there is a corresponding set of values for design:
Yet the question has been asked: If a murder is artistically beautiful, can it exist outside of moral considerations? As an aside, this is essentially what Nietzsche asked us to do when he described things as being beyond good and evil.
The criminal and the investigator have competing aesthetic and artistic visions. The criminal sees his crime as a masterpiece and himself as an artist. The investigator sees himself as solving crimes as an artistic/intellectual pastime. The crime itself is only a masterpiece in the investigator's eyes if it reaches a certain level of aesthetics. Thus, the investigator is the critic, the criminal is the artist, and the crime/crime scene is the aesthetic scene.
Lots more to think about with regard to this.
If there's an aesthetics of crime, and my reading in the area so far indicates that there very much is (see, eg, critical works on Oscar Wilde by Simon Joyce), then surely there's an aesthetics of investigation and an aesthetics of redemption.
Such speculations about the Ripper's identity--and his presumed resemblance to other literary figures--suggest a renewed interest in crime as not only imaginative and aesthetic, but as the province of the privileged classes.... (Joyce 502-503)By any modern measure, Errol Childress does not lead a privileged life. In fact, the interior of his home is in dramatic contrast to the homes of Hart--both the one he shares with his eventual ex-wife and later his apartment--and of Cohle. Childress may live on a family compound, but everything is in disrepair, dirty, cluttered, and likely many other things associated with poverty. He is both an owner of many possessions and an owner of nothing of value. Despite this, he is a member of a privileged class because of his blood relationship to the Tuttle family. He is protected by them, and perhaps even elevated through the cult. In True Detective, privilege is not limited to money or what are essentially middle-class values of thrift, industry, and moral rectitude.
Aesthetics. Αισθητική.
The work of the investigator is essentially restorative and preservative. With a successful investigation, the detective restores order and preserves the status quo. Interestingly, there is a corresponding set of values for design:
- Archaeological perspective: preserve history
- Artistic perspective: preserve the beautiful
- Social perspective: preserve the familiar
Yet the question has been asked: If a murder is artistically beautiful, can it exist outside of moral considerations? As an aside, this is essentially what Nietzsche asked us to do when he described things as being beyond good and evil.
The criminal and the investigator have competing aesthetic and artistic visions. The criminal sees his crime as a masterpiece and himself as an artist. The investigator sees himself as solving crimes as an artistic/intellectual pastime. The crime itself is only a masterpiece in the investigator's eyes if it reaches a certain level of aesthetics. Thus, the investigator is the critic, the criminal is the artist, and the crime/crime scene is the aesthetic scene.
Lots more to think about with regard to this.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Lordy. It may be outline time.
I'm at the point where I need to start writing more connected prose. I've got a ton of things written, just none of them in any form that links one to the other.
Historically, I am not a big fan of outlines, largely because I create them, start writing, then shift the outline content around so much that it's unrecognizable. But maybe that's what outlines are for, right? Dismemberment.
So here goes.
Introduction: I don't even know where to begin with this.
Part I: Tropes and Metafiction
Part II: Chambers and the Artist as Investigator
Part III: Detective Fiction
Part IV: Lovecraft and True Detective
Part V: The Artist-Investigator
Conclusion
And here's the list of everything I have in my inventor's notebook #2 that is labeled "thesis idea." Page numbers in parentheses.
The artist as anti-hero (37)
The necessary death of the investigator (38)
The self-erasing investigator; the investigator without a self; the death of the investigator (38)
Chambers, Lovecraft, and the new ethos of True Detective (38)
Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective's Impossible Intrusions (41)
Full paragraph of thesis idea, induced by Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature": The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. (50)
Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. (51)
The simultaneity of eldritch horror and human reality is Lovecraft's specialty, and its translation in True Detective follows both detective fiction and weird fiction conventions. (59-60)
Looks like I have some that are useful as chapter thesis ideas and some that can safely be tossed after the rest are used.
Seriously, I've got so much material, I don't know where to start. This likely means that I should return to writing by hand, which is how I figure things out best.
Historically, I am not a big fan of outlines, largely because I create them, start writing, then shift the outline content around so much that it's unrecognizable. But maybe that's what outlines are for, right? Dismemberment.
So here goes.
Introduction: I don't even know where to begin with this.
Part I: Tropes and Metafiction
Part II: Chambers and the Artist as Investigator
Part III: Detective Fiction
Part IV: Lovecraft and True Detective
Part V: The Artist-Investigator
Conclusion
And here's the list of everything I have in my inventor's notebook #2 that is labeled "thesis idea." Page numbers in parentheses.
The artist as anti-hero (37)
The necessary death of the investigator (38)
The self-erasing investigator; the investigator without a self; the death of the investigator (38)
Chambers, Lovecraft, and the new ethos of True Detective (38)
Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective's Impossible Intrusions (41)
Full paragraph of thesis idea, induced by Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature": The artist-investigator is the theme uniting Chambers, Lovecraft, and True Detective. For Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective, the artist amplifies the powers of the investigator, changing the aesthetic of both the artist and the investigator and permitting the investigator to understand his entrance into the world of the criminal. (50)
Through the combination of the artist and the investigator, Chambers, Lovecraft, and the writers of True Detective place the first season firmly in the weird fiction tradition. (51)
The simultaneity of eldritch horror and human reality is Lovecraft's specialty, and its translation in True Detective follows both detective fiction and weird fiction conventions. (59-60)
Looks like I have some that are useful as chapter thesis ideas and some that can safely be tossed after the rest are used.
Seriously, I've got so much material, I don't know where to start. This likely means that I should return to writing by hand, which is how I figure things out best.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Who is the true detective?
This may be the first question asked of the audience via the title. Who is this guy? Who's this true detective? Is this a reference to some lurid tabloid filled with fiction disguised as true crime stories? Is it an actual person?
In tracking down some answers to this question, I was able to outline some of the key differences between Cohle and Hart; some of the subtleties of the relationships among the cops in the squad room, the citizens of south Louisiana, and the criminals; the policeman/investigator/gumshoe triangle; the different kinds of gumshoes that Cohle and Hart each represent; and the ultimate nature of Hart and Cohle as Janus figures.
Not bad for a few notes.
Hart is the police procedural guy. If you need someone to do footwork, to interview witnesses (which is different from interrogating suspects, please note), to track down documents, to check IRS filings, then he's your guy. He's patient, methodical, focused, clear, and insightful. He's resourceful and clever. The best example of this is when he tells Cohle how he tracked down the company that did the landscaping on various government properties and how it was linked to another company that the Childress family ran. (As an aside, keep in mind that these kinds of municipal/state contracts are wildly nepotistic in the South, and the deeper you go, the worse they get.)
Hart is a gumshoe without the freedoms of true independence; whereas the gumshoe traditionally does not have a wife, children, or other family ties, Hart's children and to some extent his ex-wife keep him bound to the area. Otherwise, Hart has the classic gumshoe characteristics: he's rough and unrefined; he knows how to work someone over; he's good with details; and he only fits in as a cop when he's with other cops and citizens in the daylight. Once nighttime falls, he becomes someone different.
In contrast, Cohle is an investigator. He's a gumshoe without any need to be a gumshoe. He's rejected, an outsider, dismissed by his colleagues. He's smarter than other cops, more experienced, and because of that, he doesn't fit in well. He can fit in as a police investigator during the day, but as with Hart, he's in his true element in the nighttime scenes. More so than other investigators, Cohle "knows some moves," as Hart puts it, and above all else, he is a supreme "box man" or interrogator. As within the gumshoe tradition, Cohle must contaminate himself with drugs and alcohol (the alcohol disguised as cough syrup) to access the borderlands of criminality. He uses the prostitutes at the truck stop to get drugs so that he can sleep, as well as using them to get information about Dora Lange.
Both Hart and Cohle are Janus figures, dual faced and duplicitous. Hart's infidelities make him overtly duplicitous, but in ways that do not matter to the police force. His duplicities are of no consequence to his colleagues. On the other hand, Cohle seems as if he is concealing everything about himself, yet he conceals very little. He is in no way duplicitous, yet others believe that he is, because to believe him and to believe in him would mean no longer denying that he is superior outside of being a box man. Cohle is ultimately the figure that shows up the lie of equality-as-identicality.
So who is the true detective?
It's too easy to say there's no true detective. Cohle and Hart are compromised as police officers, as investigators, and as persons. But is it possible to be a true detective, and if so, what does it mean to be one? Is there a code by which a true detective may live? What would that code be? The operative word is "true." Is it possible to be true, and if so, what does that mean?
In tracking down some answers to this question, I was able to outline some of the key differences between Cohle and Hart; some of the subtleties of the relationships among the cops in the squad room, the citizens of south Louisiana, and the criminals; the policeman/investigator/gumshoe triangle; the different kinds of gumshoes that Cohle and Hart each represent; and the ultimate nature of Hart and Cohle as Janus figures.
Not bad for a few notes.
Hart is the police procedural guy. If you need someone to do footwork, to interview witnesses (which is different from interrogating suspects, please note), to track down documents, to check IRS filings, then he's your guy. He's patient, methodical, focused, clear, and insightful. He's resourceful and clever. The best example of this is when he tells Cohle how he tracked down the company that did the landscaping on various government properties and how it was linked to another company that the Childress family ran. (As an aside, keep in mind that these kinds of municipal/state contracts are wildly nepotistic in the South, and the deeper you go, the worse they get.)
Hart is a gumshoe without the freedoms of true independence; whereas the gumshoe traditionally does not have a wife, children, or other family ties, Hart's children and to some extent his ex-wife keep him bound to the area. Otherwise, Hart has the classic gumshoe characteristics: he's rough and unrefined; he knows how to work someone over; he's good with details; and he only fits in as a cop when he's with other cops and citizens in the daylight. Once nighttime falls, he becomes someone different.
In contrast, Cohle is an investigator. He's a gumshoe without any need to be a gumshoe. He's rejected, an outsider, dismissed by his colleagues. He's smarter than other cops, more experienced, and because of that, he doesn't fit in well. He can fit in as a police investigator during the day, but as with Hart, he's in his true element in the nighttime scenes. More so than other investigators, Cohle "knows some moves," as Hart puts it, and above all else, he is a supreme "box man" or interrogator. As within the gumshoe tradition, Cohle must contaminate himself with drugs and alcohol (the alcohol disguised as cough syrup) to access the borderlands of criminality. He uses the prostitutes at the truck stop to get drugs so that he can sleep, as well as using them to get information about Dora Lange.
Both Hart and Cohle are Janus figures, dual faced and duplicitous. Hart's infidelities make him overtly duplicitous, but in ways that do not matter to the police force. His duplicities are of no consequence to his colleagues. On the other hand, Cohle seems as if he is concealing everything about himself, yet he conceals very little. He is in no way duplicitous, yet others believe that he is, because to believe him and to believe in him would mean no longer denying that he is superior outside of being a box man. Cohle is ultimately the figure that shows up the lie of equality-as-identicality.
So who is the true detective?
It's too easy to say there's no true detective. Cohle and Hart are compromised as police officers, as investigators, and as persons. But is it possible to be a true detective, and if so, what does it mean to be one? Is there a code by which a true detective may live? What would that code be? The operative word is "true." Is it possible to be true, and if so, what does that mean?
Monday, May 4, 2015
Idea map 9: Palimpsests.
Brief notes today; no Internet access except through my cell phone's portable hot spot, which is fine, but not quite the same thing.
I've talked a lot about palimpsests in various contexts with regard to True Detective. The key one is the palimpsest of the crime scene and the current day, which I discussed in a previous idea map. There are other palimpsests about, however, so I'll briefly address them, then come back to this idea map and flesh them out more.
One of the legacies of the cult's activities is the way their actions destroy the survivors' lives. Kelly, the girl rescued from the LeDoux encampment, survives with severe psychological trauma and catatonia, such that Cohle is the first person she's spoken to since shortly after her rescue (the time is indefinite). Toby, who had been a student at one of the Tuttle schools, is now a male prostitute in the French Quarter. The past sexual abuse is the text and history beneath Kelly and Toby's current circumstances.
Similarly, the quasi-normal day-to-day lives of the inhabitants of south Louisiana are laid over the cult's activities. The political power of the cult members ensures that the murders and abuse do not surface. The normal is a thin veil over the occult.
It's tough to call which one is the writing and which one is the palimpsest, Carcosa or south Louisiana. Both are surreal places. Both have unbelievable events occurring. Both are led by the powerful and the corrupt.
Cohle and Hart's private investigation overlays the police investigations--the multiple investigations, that is--and both of those overlay the crime scene.
This is the last of my idea maps. Next, more thoughts from other sources.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)