‘Walk the tightrope!’ Colum McCann’s <em>Letters to a Young Writer</em>: A Postmodern Parody of Rilke’s Correspondence - Normandie Université
Journal Articles Nordic Irish Studies Year : 2019

‘Walk the tightrope!’ Colum McCann’s Letters to a Young Writer: A Postmodern Parody of Rilke’s Correspondence

Abstract

When he was asked to write a short piece about his writing life, Colum McCann first submitted a text in the guise of a letter. This experience made him want to continue: other letters followed over the course of a year. The idea of a book on the pattern of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet began to form in his mind. This is how, in 2017, McCann published his Letters to a Young Writer, a book-length text, the title of which conspicuously displays its source of inspiration. Both texts have a lot in common, as their authors are united by similar motives. Nevertheless, a certain number of divergences can also be observed, as McCann’s universe is very different from Rilke’s. The distortion of a text by means of transformation is perceived as a form of parody: how and why did McCann choose to copy his master so conspicuously and, at the same time, to write a text which distances itself from the original one? These are the main issues raised here.
No file

Dates and versions

hal-04064435 , version 1 (11-04-2023)

Identifiers

  • HAL Id : hal-04064435 , version 1

Cite

Bertrand Cardin. ‘Walk the tightrope!’ Colum McCann’s Letters to a Young Writer: A Postmodern Parody of Rilke’s Correspondence. Nordic Irish Studies, 2019, 18, pp.42-55. ⟨hal-04064435⟩
15 View
0 Download

Share

More