M4C Logo AHRC Logo

Beth Preece

Languages and Literature, University of Birmingham

Thesis title:

Queering the Incomprehensible: antinarrative, temporality, and the trans novel

Conventional narrative within literature has long been understood to be heteronormative (Yong, 2021), imposing a ‘coherence and linearity on subjectivity and meaning’ which is often antithetical to queer experience, and thus insufficient for conveying queer life (Bradway, 2021). Alternative modes of narrative have been explored, particularly by postmodern, 1960s writers (Barth, 1988; Johnson, 2009; Gaddis, 2020), who would often employ antinarrative within their work: a writing tradition that avoids traditional conventions, coherence, and plot resolution. However, with few exceptions, these were white, straight, cisgender authors, with novels that, despite narrative invention, fell in line with the cultural hegemony of heteronormative ideology.

My project will sit at the cross-section of postmodern and queer literature, analysing how postmodern antinarrative can be coopted to tell queer stories, where the point is not to disrupt narrative as an end in itself, or to antagonise the reader, but as a necessary tool for exploring narratives that fall outside the logic of heteronormative reality: arguing that when we clamour for readability and conventionality, we are curtailing individuality, overlooking the lived experiences of those on the margins for the overriding neoliberal structures that dominate our society. Recent queer novels, e.g. Waidner’s Gaudy bauble (2017) and Gavin’s Never Was (2023), can be seen as attempts in this direction; however, they still ultimately fall into mainstream, normative narratives, packaging their stories in such a manner that fails to embrace the full possibilities of antinarrative. As such, investigating the potential of postmodernist techniques through my own original novel will be a necessity rather than supplementary.

The use of antinarrative techniques for queer expression is an as yet underexplored area. To ground the work, the thesis will follow Berlant’s Cruel Optimism (2011), using their analysis of how conventional narratives within western literature form models of normative, 21st century western society which, ultimately, do not reflect the realities of said society, instead creating a “fantasy” which society attempts to emulate. It will then present antinarrative as a lens with which to better capture reality—specifically looking at the relation between antinarrative and queer temporality (Halberstam, 2005). Antinarrative will then be devised as a key technique for any experimental marginalized fiction that seeks to contest the “fantasies” of dominant, socio-political ideologies.

The novel will be composed of fragmented, interconnected short stories in the life of a trans woman and lecturer, taking structural inspiration from Bennett’s Pond (2015) and Robinson’s The Baudelaire Fractal (2020). Thematically, it will be concerned with the temporal “place” of a trans woman within both mainstream society and the established western literary canon, employing intertextual discussions of other novels, artworks, films, etc., and especially the lives of the few existing feminist postmodern authors, e.g., Kathy Acker and Ann Quin.

The thesis aims to answer:

 

  • How can antinarrative be used as a lens into queer temporality to allow a writer to tell a more complete picture of queer experience?

 

  • Can postmodern antinarrative be reinvigorated by queer writers to tell stories that go against the cultural hegemony of heteronormative ideology?


Research Area

  • English Language and Literature
  • Languages and Literature