Bearing Across: Studies in Literature and Science

Highly original and insightful, Bearing Across explores the complex interrelationships between American literature and science in the 20th century. Steven Carter begins this unprecedented work by examining the influence that science and scientific thinking has had on the creative processes of several postmodern writers. Focusing on the literary works of Charles Olson, Robert Duncan and Jack Spicer, he investigates the philosophical impact that field and quantum theories have had on these imaginative writers. The second section of the book features radical re-readings of six of Hemingway’s best-known short stories as it explores the features of an epistemological model that not only inform literature and science but art and philosophy as well. Carter’s interdisciplinary approach allows him to offer a unique perspective that is sure to intrigue scholars seeking an innovative approach to understanding modern literature.