Language as object

: the achievement and context of Richard Brautigan's 1960s' fiction

Abstract

In the study which follows I argue a case for re-assessing the contribution to
innovative fiction in America of the relatively neglected West Coast writer, Richard Brautigan (1935-1984). I do so through a detailed consideration of the prose fiction he produced during the 1960s and by a comparison of his most structurally innovative work, Trout Fishing in America, with novels produced by American contemporaries. Apart from Trout Fishing, the novels considered are A Confederate General from Big Sur, In Watermelon Sugar and The Abortion; to these I add a study of Brautigan's collection of short stories, Revenge of the Lawn. In the first section of the thesis I also examine the biographical, literary and cultural contexts which helped to shape Brautigan's distinctive prose, stressing the importance of poetic models - his own and others' - and of San Francisco's avant-garde literary scene. I also point to the continuity of Brautigan's development as a transgressive writer through a study of his
juvenilia, which demonstrates an early interest in transcending genres. I highlight, too, parallels between the fragmented nature of his early life and the fragmented nature of much of his poetry and prose.

Date of Award	2010
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Bangor University