DEPARTURE ACTS: ANONYMOUS AUTHORSHIP IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Scott Drake M.A. English, Simon Fraser University, 2005 B.A. English, University of Northern British Columbia, 2002 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of English © Annie Won 2011 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2011 The partial or total reproduction of this publication, in electronic form or otherwise, is consented to for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original copyright notice and this notice are included. In accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Any reproduction or use of all or a portion of this publication in exchange for financial consideration of any kind is prohibited without permission in writing from the author. APPROVAL Name: Scott Drake Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, English Title of Thesis: Departure Acts: Anonymous Authorship in the Late Twentieth Century Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Betty Schellenberg Professor, Department of English ___________________________________________ Dr. Stephen Collis Senior Supervisor Associate Professor, Department of English ___________________________________________ Dr. Jeff Derksen Supervisor Associate Professor, Department of English ___________________________________________ Dr. Michael Everton Supervisor Assistant Professor, Department of English ___________________________________________ Dr. Mark Leier Internal Examiner Professor, Department of History ___________________________________________ Dr. Stephen Ross External Examiner Associate Professor, Department of English University of Victoria Date Defended/Approved: ___________________________________________ ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores mid to late twentieth century manifestations of anonymous authorship as both an aesthetic and material site that is co-existent with the textual issues of originality and ownership contained within their fiction. Working out of, among others, Michel Foucault's insights on the institutional function of authorship, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's notion of rhizomatic production and Pierre Bourdieu's understanding of the field of cultural production, I examine how self-reflexive anonymous authorship becomes a textual construction that must be read alongside the privatizing effects of copyright on textual production in the economic-juridical order of neoliberalism through a specific look at the relation between materiality and aesthetics in such figures as J.D. Salinger, Thomas Pynchon and Wu Ming. In so doing, I contend that the institutional function authorship reveals a provocative collusion of aesthetics, copyright and corporatization in the late twentieth century. Arguing that self-reflexive anonymous authorship— in its emphasis on its own mediated status and dissembling—acts as a dissident form of cultural production in the economic-juridical order of neoliberalism. Keywords: Twentieth Century American Fiction; Theories of Authorship; J.D. Salinger; Thomas Pynchon; Wu Ming; Luther Blissett iii DEDICATION For Heather, Brooklyn, & Ayven It‘s been a long time coming…I know iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been written without the intellectual and practical support of my supervisor, Dr. Stephen Collis. It is a rare occasion to have a supervisor who can stretch beyond their specific field, find out what interests their student and then give them the guidance and space to be able to develop and sharpen those ideas. I can‘t thank him enough for the times when I just needed to throw some thought or idea around and have that outside voice hear, acknowledge and help me work through some small stumbling block. Without these small moments, tackling the larger issues of this dissertation would have been unthinkable. I want to thank Dr. Michael Everton for introducing me to print culture. He gave me fair warning about engaging with copyright, but his own enthusiasm and scholarly pursuits convinced me that despite its murkiness, copyright is a compelling and significant pursuit, especially in the twentieth/twenty-first century. A huge thanks to all the committee members who made my defence such a painless and thought provoking experience. Dr. Jeff Derksen‘s comments will be invaluable when it comes to transforming this work into a publishable document and I more than appreciate his willingness to suggest other texts that I have not considered, to push my reading further in order to engage with complexity as complexity. Dr. Mark Leier‘s discussion at the defence allowed us to think beyond disciplinary boundaries. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Stephen Ross for his reminder that stating the argument is as much about positioning yourself in relation to a defined context as is its independent articulation. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my fellow workers at the Teaching Support Staff Union both for reminding me that political struggles are an inherent part of academics and keeping my feet on the ground. All quotations from Q are copyright © 2000 Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a, Torino and partial or total reproduction of this book, in electronic form or otherwise, is consented to for non- commercial purposes, provided that the original copyright notice and this notice are included and the publisher and source are clearly acknowledged. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ......................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION: .......................................................................................................................... 1 Toward a Material-Aesthetics of Authorship .............................................................................. 1 Part 1: Romanticism and Capitalism .................................................................................... 33 Chapter 1: Writing in the Author ................................................................................................ 33 The Romantic Author ......................................................................................................... 37 The Materiality of Authorship ............................................................................................ 57 Chapter 2: Trespassing for any Purpose is Strictly Forbidden, Violators will be Prosecuted: The Aesthetics of Authorship in J.D. Salinger ......................................... 79 Salinger and Anonymity ..................................................................................................... 83 All By Himself ...................................................................................................................... 85 Unification of Self ...............................................................................................................