In terms of novels this is Bakhtin's territory. All I have is Bakhtin,
"The Dialogic Imagination" and the essay, Discourse in the novel, covers
parody. His book, "Rabelais and his world", is almost entirely devoted
to humour in the novel. Humour, claims B, is an essential component in
novels, even the most serious looking varieties of novels. Modernist
poetry that falls into this novelistic criteria also needs humour as
does Dante's layers of heaven and hell. Dorothy Porter's verse novels
all need humour. Her verse novels were influenced by Dante, especially
when she first set out to write the Monkey's Mask.
Deleuze, picking up on B has written on parody in literature in the
field of philosophy. (I would need to check citations here. If needed I
can have a look, let me know.)
A lit search should pick up heaps of references since humour is one of
the big issues (if I can say it that way?) in literature.
On Tue, 2008-12-09 at 22:00 +0000, Heather Taylor wrote:
> My flatmate is trying to find some essays/ writings on using humour in
> poetry and other creative writing. I think she wants to talk about how
> people think if you write humour you aren't taken seriously but that
> shouldn't be the case as it can still be good writing - something to that
> effect. Does anyone have any ideas on where to look for more info?
>
> Thanks!
> Heather
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