Suicidal Scriptors?

Originally posted Thursday, October 20, by Eric W. Strege at www.afewlinesmagazine.com

To our devout followers,

Recently I, while re-categorizing my library, became reacquainted with a book which I’m sure – at one time or another in my possession – was used as a doorstop. The book is Roland Barthes’ The Pleasure of the Text, a work of portentous literary criticism which serves as a Structuralist “manifesto” of sorts. In it, Barthes questions the notion of textual significance as driven by the vehicle of authorial notoriety or intent, which got me to thinking about the little bio “quips” usually attached to the submissions we at AFLM receive. I decided that this theory is something worthy of the readership’s attention and took it upon myself to compose a modest essay in regards to a section of Barthes’ text, aptly titled, “The Death of the Author.”

Roland Barthes, a luminary of the Structuralist movement, vehemently called for the literary public to distance themselves from the classical concept of authorial lordship through his evocatively titled essay, The Death of the Author, wherein he urges readers to separate literary works from their authors in order to liberate the writing from antiquated interpretive strictures. Barthes continues on to say that, “To give a text an Author is to impose a limit on the text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close the writing”, and in so doing, devalues the text by implying that the work is singular in its objective and unmeritorious of multifaceted interpretation. Furthermore, in contrast to classical and romantic beliefs, Barthes regards authorial antecedence to a work as a fallacy, further postulating that, “the modern Scriptor is born simultaneously with the text”, the Scriptor existing only to produce, but not to explain the work. Barthes reinforces the theory of the “Intentional Fallacy”, in its rejection of the Author’s intended meaning as constituting the work’s primary import, through the development of his theory in which he established the Scriptor and text as co-creators of themselves, consequently making Authorial intent indefinite and variable.
Through the rejection of the Author or Scriptor, as regards textual interpretation, Barthes advocates individual literary explication, insisting that literary meaning is established by the impressions of the reader, and not by authorial authority. In so doing, Barthes’s devaluing of the author aims to properly acclaim the text, and celebrate its audience acceptance, rather than further aggrandizing the Author and his unequivocal analysis.

If you have made it this far, and haven’t been lured down the charlatanistic primrose path by more immediately gratifying distractions, you are to be both commended and congratulated, for a point is on the eminent horizon. As much as we respect all of our contributors for their efforts in sustaining the magazine with a constant stream of submissions, we are not able to accept all of them for one reason or the next. One reason, which has become more prevalent, is a seeming preponderance of effort put into the bio “quips”, as noted above. Most contributors use the given bio space to give a name and a way to contact them with the ruling on their piece. Some submitters, on the other hand, find this space appropriate to use in lauding themselves with what seems to be an endless enumeration of accolades and accomplishments. Others, still, commit an even more egregious transgression, that is, they use the space to tell the editors how the piece should be interpreted! Please be aware that I am by no means out to offend any readers, only to comment on some apparent bones of contention. It is our pleasure and purpose here at AFLM to consider so many great pieces of work from all across the genres and mediums for publication, and consider ourselves privileged to have such a loyal following of individuals who appreciate the contemporary literary heritage as much as we do. With that in mind, remember to let the quality your work speak for itself. Don’t try to dazzle us with claims of celebrity, and please do not stifle your piece by providing us a pre-packaged analysis. If the piece is a truly great work – like some of the pieces we receive are – its significance and urgency will be communicated through the given text, photograph, etc. In short, let’s all aspire to take a page out of Barthes’ book and further commit ourselves to the crafts of artistry, never forgetting that it is the work we leave behind that becomes our legacy.

With all due respect,
Eric W. Strege