From Sensationalism to Sensation: Brian Evenson’s Affecting Texts

Abstract

Brian Evenson’s work forcefully resists literary categorization, playfully mixing then deconstructing genres such as the Gothic, the western, post-apocalyptic fiction, magic realism to name but a few. Yet several short stories and novellas seem to strive towards a common fantasy: achieving sensation. This article intends to analyze the ways in which Evenson’s prose endeavors to probe the limits of literature, reassessing its power to seize the body of the reader by opening the text to a virtually physical reception.

Keywords

• Evenson (Brian)
• American literature
• horror
• abjection
• affect theory
• sensation