Lorraine York
Full Name
Lorraine York
Bio
Lorraine York teaches Canadian literature in the Department of English
and Cultural Studies at McMaster. She has written books on photography
and Canadian fiction, Timothy Findley, collaborative women’s writing,
and most recently completed Literary Celebrity in Canada (University of Toronto
Press, 2007). She is currently writing a study of the Margaret Atwood
“industry,” working on the assumption that anyone whose assistant needs
an assistant qualifies as an industry.
Affiliation
McMaster University
Country
Canada
Personal Statement About Topic
For some years now, I have been, in one form or another, fascinated by
the forms that authorship takes in our culture, at this historical
moment. It began with questioning why, in Western cultures, we assume
that writers create in solitude rather than as writing communities, and
it has mutated into a concern with the social visibility—or
celebrity—of the writer. I have also taught seminars on that one-woman
cultural industry, Oprah Winfrey. For me, thinking about the
intersections of literature and celebrity is one way to reflect the
dual commitment of my department to both literary and cultural studies.
the forms that authorship takes in our culture, at this historical
moment. It began with questioning why, in Western cultures, we assume
that writers create in solitude rather than as writing communities, and
it has mutated into a concern with the social visibility—or
celebrity—of the writer. I have also taught seminars on that one-woman
cultural industry, Oprah Winfrey. For me, thinking about the
intersections of literature and celebrity is one way to reflect the
dual commitment of my department to both literary and cultural studies.