Paratexts Thresholds of Interpretation [Paperback]

Genette shows how paratexts  titles, forewords, publishers' blurbs  shape both individual readings and literature as cultural institution.Paratexts are the liminal devices and conventions, that mediate between book, author and reader--e.g. titles, forewords, publishers' jacket copy, etc. This first English translation offers a global view of liminal mediations and their relation to the reading public.Paratexts are the liminal devices and conventions, that mediate between book, author and reader--e.g. titles, forewords, publishers' jacket copy, etc. This first English translation offers a global view of liminal mediations and their relation to the reading public.Paratexts are those liminal devices and conventions, both within and outside the book, that mediate between book, author and reader: titles, forewords and publishers' jacket copy form part of a book's private and public history. In this first English translation of Paratexts, Gérard Genette offers a global view of these liminal mediations and their relation to the reading public. With precision, clarity and through wide reference, he shows how paratexts interact with general questions of literature as a cultural institution. Richard Macksey's foreword situates Genette in contemporary literary theory.Foreword; Translator's note; 1. Introduction; 2. The publisher's peritext; 3. The name of the author; 4. Titles; 5. The please-insert; 6. Dedications and inscriptions; 7. Epigraphs; 8. The prefatorial situation of communication; 9. The functions of the original preface; 10. Other prefaces, other functions; 11. Intertitles; 12. Notes; 13. The public epitext; 14. The private epitext; 15. Conclusion; Additional references; Index.