Genre Hybridization, Literary Traditions, and Thematic Complexity in Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red
Genre Hybridization, Literary Traditions, and Thematic Complexity in Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red

Summary/Abstract: In postmodern literature, genre hybridization and thematic richness are far from being rare phenomena. However, when a classicist and translator chooses the verse novel as the most suitable genre for a story inspired by Stesichorus’s Geryoneis fragments, the potentially overwhelming richness of themes becomes almost self-evident. Canadian poet Anne Carson’s verse novel Autobiography of Red already creates an intriguing constellation with its title and genre-defining subtitle. This is further expanded on by the paratexts that introduce the main text, culminating in yet another label that ushers readers into Red’s life: romance. This red Geryon is neither the Geryon of Stesichorus nor the one form Apollodorus’s Bibliotheca. Carson’s Geryon is a protagonist constructed at the intersection of mythological monsters, the literary traditions of monstrosity, and the queer experience. His coming-of-age story may feel familiar, but its poetic and stylistic rendering offers something profoundly novel. This study examines the genre hybridization in Autobiography of Red, with a primary focus on the traditions of the verse novel, as well as the semantic domains created by the layering of topoi drawn from various literary and cultural traditions.

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