LiteraryStudies Journalism Return address: Literary Journalism Studies State University of New York at Cortland Department of Communication Studies LJS P.O. Box 2000 Cortland, New York 13045-0900 U.S.A. Literary Journalism Studies Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2010 Special issue Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2010 2010 Spring 1, No. 2, Vol. Europa goes . Gonzo? Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, U.S.A. The Journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies On the Cover lassicists, formalists, and other ists Cmay be offended, but in the spirit of Gonzo our cover was mischievously inspired by the painting “The Abduction of Europa,” painted by Nöel-Nicolas Coypel, 1726-1727. This detail from the larger painting shows Europa astride her abductor, the god Zeus, who ap- pears in the form of a white bull. Sound Gonzo? Then read further and discover a side to European journalism you may not have known, and ponder: Has Gonzo abducted Europa? The painting is in the collection of the Philadel- phia Museum of Art. The image is in the public domain, and the cover qualifies as parody. Literary Journalism Studies The Journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2010 Contents Information for Contributors 4 Note from the Editor 5 SPECIAL ISSUE Has Europa gone . Gonzo? Germany The Milieu of a Magazine: Tempo as an Exponent of German New Journalism by Bernhard Poerksen 9 Finland Bangkok by Esa Kero 31 Exploring the “reality boundary” of Esa Kero by Maria Lassila-Merisalo 39 The Netherlands Onder de Soldaten (Among Soldiers) by Arnon Grunberg 49 Between Fact and Fiction: Arnon Grunberg on His Literary Journalism an interview by Frank Harbers 74 The Hoax, Uncanny Identity, and Literary Journalism by Ruth Palmer 85 BOOK REVIEWS 107 Mission Statement 132 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies 133 2 Literary Journalism Studies Copyright © 2010 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies. All rights reserved. Published twice a year, Spring and Fall issues. Subscriptions, $50/year (individuals), $75/year (libraries). ISSN 1994-897X 3 Literary Journalism Studies John C. Hartsock, Editor-in-Chief State University of New York at Cortland, U.S.A. Bill Reynolds, Executive Editor William Dow, Managing Editor Ryerson University, Canada American University of Paris, France Jenny McKay, Associate Editor Thomas Connery, Book Review Editor University of Stirling, Scotland University of St. Thomas, U.S.A. David Abrahamson, Publisher Northwestern University, U.S.A. Editorial Offices Literary Journalism Studies State University of New York at Cortland Department of Communication Studies P.O. Box 2000 Cortland, New York 13045-0900 U.S.A. Email: [email protected] Literary Journalism Studies is the journal of the International Association for Liter- ary Journalism Studies and is published twice yearly. For information on subscrib- ing or membership, go to www.ialjs.org. MEMBER OF THE Council of Editors of Learned Journals Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, U.S.A. 4 4 Literary Journalism Studies SUBMISSION INFORMATION ITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES invites submission of original L scholarly articles on literary journalism, which is also known as nar- rative journalism, literary reportage, reportage literature, New Journalism, and the nonfiction novel, as well as literary and narrative nonfiction that emphasizes cultural revelation. The journal has an international focus and seeks submissions on the theory, history, and pedagogy of literary journalism throughout the world. All disciplinary approaches are welcome. Submissions should be informed with an awareness of the existing scholarship and should be between 3,000 and 8,000 words in length, including notes. To encourage international dialogue, the journal is open to publishing on occasion short ex- amples or excerpts of previously published literary journalism accompanied by a scholarly gloss about or an interview with the writer who is not widely known outside his or her country. The example or excerpt must be translated into English. The scholarly gloss or interview should generally be between 1,500 and 2,500 words long and indicate why the example is important in the context of its national culture. Together, both the text and the gloss generally should not exceed 8,000 words in length. The contributor is responsible for obtaining all copyright permissions, including from the publisher, author and translator as necessary. The journal is also willing to consider publication of exclusive excerpts of narrative literary journalism accepted for publication by major publishers. Email submission (as a Micsrosoft Word attachment) is mandatory. A cover page indicating the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affilia- tion, and contact information, along with an abstract (50-100 words), should accompany all submissions. The cover page should be sent as a separate at- tachment from the abstract and submission to facilitate distribution to read- ers. No identification should appear linking the author to the submission or abstract. All submissions must be in English Microsoft Word and follow the Chicago Manual of Style (Humanities endnote style)<http://www.chicago- manualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html>. All submissions will be blind reviewed. Send submissions to the editor at <literaryjournalismstudies@ gmail.com>. Copyright reverts to the contributor after publication with the provision that if republished reference is made to initial publication in Literary Journalism Studies. OOK REVIEWS are invited. They should be 1,000-2,000 words and Bfocus on the scholarship of literary journalism and recent original works of literary journalism that deserve greater recognition among scholars. Book reviews are not blind reviewed but selected by the book review editor based on merit. Reviewers may suggest book review prospects or write the book review editor for suggestions. Usually reviewers will be responsible for ob- taining their respective books. Book reviews and/or related queries should be sent to Thomas B. Connery at <[email protected]>. 5 Note from the Editor . Has Europa gone . Gonzo? hy would I not?” I mused, as I surveyed what had “Wcome across my desk. There it was, something of what had been a puzzle for me—some evidence of a tradition in literary jour- nalism I had long either guessed at, surmised, or pipe-dreamed about. Having studied my own national literature in literary journalism, I was often left to speculate: Surely there must be more beyond my own national boundaries with which I had long circumscribed my scholarly world? Because I often recall an important object lesson, how what was called the New Journalism in the 1960s and early 1970s was in fact hardly new. I understand, of course, why so many, such as Tom Wolfe and Truman Capote, believed that it was (although in fairness to Wolfe, he did acknowledge a 1930s version—dismis- sively, as if it were only a Neanderthal-like proto-literary journalism). Other- wise, there was no reason to believe that there had been a literary journalism prior to the 1960s. That was one reason why I had speculated in recent years about the pos- sibilities of the genre’s international practice. Just because we may not know about it doesn’t mean it’s not out there, somewhere. Slowly, I began to find scattered evidence—Victor Hugo’s account, for example, of the flight of King Louis Phillippe, Turgenev’s hunting sketches, the international proletar- ian (and tendentious) writer’s movement of the 1920s and 1930s. hen on my desk landed Bernhard Poerksen’s article on the Gonzo ver- Tsion of literary journalism published in the German magazine Tempo in the 1980s and 1990s (see page 9). Imagine a magazine that sends out a re- porter to take lessons on how to be a dominatrix. Or a writer who locks himself up in a basement for a week and insists on no contact with the world in order to understand the nature of solitary confinement. Then there was the editor who offered her services as a surrogate mother in order to demon- strate “how unborn life is bartered in Germany.” And clearly this stuff was “over the top.” Next, Maria Lassila-Merisalo’s examination of Finnish reporter Esa Ke- ro’s literary reportage, also published in the 1980s, showed up. To provide an advance story for prospective summer vacationers about vacation hot spots in Finland, Kero goes over the top when during his travels he focuses on (or revels in) the bars he stops at in the declining, dreary Finnish winter. Similarly, his article “Bangkok,” republished here (see page 31), is a bit over the top when he writes in first person about his personal encounters in the houses of prostitution in Bangkok—at the expense of his machismo. “Over the top”—that metaphoric leap into the outrageous and absurd born of the trenches on the Western Front—is what I’ve come to expect of Gonzo. Then there is Arnon Grunberg of the Netherlands. He is one of Hol- land’s most distinguished novelists who clearly is also a literary reporter in his account of visiting the Dutch army in Afghanistan (see page 49). His 6 Literary Journalism Studies capacity to go beyond the conventional “objective” approach of journal- ism to detect the ironies, paradoxes, and ultimately absurdities of human experience—such as a Burger King in a war zone—takes us over the top in challenging the safety of journalistic convention (and I imagine with a sense of wonder, while nibbling at my Whopper, Oh, look . there goes another whizz- bang”—democratic capitalism insinuating itself into the battlefield; but then it always has). All of which left me with this thought: Had Europa gone . Gonzo? Of course, these are only three examples (although, see my discussion later in this note about Ruth Palmer’s examination of Emmanuel Carrère’s The Adversary—France, at least, gets a supporting role).