Dialogues with/and Great Books: The Dynamics of Canon Formation. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2010

Résumé En

Alongside recent critical studies, such as John Guillory's Cultural Capital: The Problem of Literary Canon Formation (1993), or The Canonical Debate Today: Crossing Disciplinary and Cultural Boundaries, edited by Liviu Papadima, David Damrosch and Theo D'haen (2011), Dialogues with/and Great Books reexamines the question of canon formation and attempts to reassess the delicate question of "literary greatness" and "eminence" in the light of modern technologies. Far from attempting to establish an authoritative list of great books, or to write a definitive history of literary canon formation, Fishelov looks at the "dynamics" involved in the making of masterpieces. Considering that purely aesthetic criteria or socio-cultural approaches fail to account for the lasting reputation of a literary work, David Fishelov expounds a new, "dialogic" approach to canon formation, closely connecting a book's perceived greatness to its capacity to elicit dialogues with other works, to be constantly revisited in other media, and to remain a lasting source of inspiration for "readers, authors, translators, adaptors, artists and critics" [ix]. As suggested by the title of the book, what began as a course on "Dialogues WITH Great Books", at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, evolved into a complex reflection on "Dialogues AND Great Books", investigating the impact of dialogic interactions on the canonical status of literary works.