Professor of Comparative Literature Peter J. Rabinowitz delivered a paper, "The Rhetoric of Reference; or, A Ghost Sonata," at a special session in memory of Wayne Booth at the International Conference on Narrative in Ottawa in April. After presenting a new rhetorically based typology of the ways literary texts refer to other works of art, Rabinowitz went on to deal with musical reference, concluding with a new interpretation of the role of self-quotations in Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet.
In addition, the Ohio State University Press series ("Theory and Interpretation of Narrative") that Rabinowitz co-edits with James Phelan has published its 22nd book: Emma Kafalenos's Narrative Causalities. Working with a wide range of narratives (including canonical texts, avant-garde novels, visual representations, and everyday conversations), Kafalenos develops an analytic methology based on "functions" ("position[s] in an abstract causal sequence"). This methodology not only offers insights into interpretive practice but also casts light on a fundamental epistemological issue: "how the information we receive through narratives is shaped by the representation though which we receive it." A description of the book, as well as the rest of the series, can be found at http://www.ohiostatepress.org/Books/Series%20Pages/tin.htm
