Donald Barthelme

Start Free Trial

Donald Barthelme Criticism

Donald Barthelme, an influential figure in American literature, is renowned for reshaping narrative forms through his experimental and avant-garde approach to fiction. Born in 1931, Barthelme's body of work, including short stories, novels, essays, and children's literature, defies traditional storytelling by abandoning conventional plot structures and character development. Instead, he employs a surrealistic style laden with irony and humor, crafting narratives that challenge readers to contemplate the limitations of language and the complexities of human relationships. His works such as Snow White and The Dead Father exemplify his use of parody and mythological allusions to critique societal norms, as discussed by Donald Barthelme's Snow White and Robert Morace, as well as Carl D. Malmgren.

Contents

  • Principal Works
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 8)
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 1)
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 13)
    • Bright Book of Life: American Novelists & Storytellers from Hemingway to Mailer
    • Barthelme Unfair to Kierkegaard: Some Thoughts on Modern and Postmodern Irony
    • What Was That, Again?
    • Mythological, Biblical, and Literary Allusions in Donald Barthelme's 'The Dead Father,'
    • Robert Towers
    • Diane Johnson
    • Barthelme at Play in Comic Routines
    • Barthelme and Delights of Mind-Travel
    • Marc Granetz
    • Polysynthetic Barthelme
    • For Brevity's Sake
    • The New Music
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 3)
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 115)
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 2)
  • Barthelme, Donald (Vol. 23)
    • 'The Indian Uprising' or Donald Barthelme's Strange Object Covered with Fur
    • Donald Barthelme
    • Fiction Briefs: 'Sixty Stories'
    • Working Like a Stand-Up Comic
    • Rouse the Stupid and Damp the Pert
    • Book Reviews: 'Sixty Stories'
    • Lois Gordon
  • Barthelme, Donald
    • Fiction at the Crossroads
    • Barthelme's Short Stories: Ironic Suspensions of Text
    • Come Back, Dr. Caligari
    • Review of Sixty Stories
    • Barthelme's Code of Transaction
    • Donald Barthelme: The Aesthetics of Trash
    • The Short Story as the Form of Forms
    • The Art Stories
    • Donald Barthelme: The Modernist Uprising
    • The Donald Barthelme Blues
    • Dark Matter: Barthelme's Fantastic, Freudian Subtext in ‘The Sandman’
    • Barthelme the Scrivener
    • On Not-Knowing How to Read Barthelme's ‘The Indian Uprising.’
    • Later Fiction
    • Part 1: The Short Fiction
    • Irony and the Totalitarian Consciousness in Donald Barthelme's Amateurs
  • Further Reading