A fragment of the world, a piece of human consciousness: Tim Bowling’s "The Bone Sharps" (2007) and "The Tinsmith" (2012)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.3058Keywords:
Bowling, fiction, consciousness, epistemology, history, identityAbstract
Canadian novelist, poet and essayist Tim Bowling is one of the most prestigious authors in 21st-century Canadian letters. A prolific and versatile author, he has published twelve poetry collections, four novels, a memoir and a work of creative non-fiction so far. This paper looks at two of his novels, "The Bone Sharps" (2007) and "The Tinsmith" (2012), tools of knowledge that explore not just human consciousness as the lens through which we make sense of reality, including our selves, but also history, memory and identity, epistemology and ethics. A fragment of the world and a piece of human consciousness: this is what both novels are.
Downloads
References
Anderson, M. J. 2007. Review of The Bone Sharps. The Pacific Rim Review of Books, 7: 30. 10/06/2015.
Aristotle. 1984. The Complete Works of Aristotle. The Revised Oxford Translation. Vol. 2. Ed. Jonathan Barnes. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Badiou, A. 1999. Manifesto for Philosophy. New York: State University of New York Press. Trans. Norman Madarasz.
Bauman, Z. 2000. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Belyea, A. 2008. Review of The Bone Sharps. The Goose 4.2: 69. 10/06/2015.
Bowling, T. 1995. Low Water Slack. Vancouver: Nightwood Editions.
Bowling, T. 2010. The Bone Sharps. Kentville, Nova Scotia: Gaspereau Press.
Bowling, T. 2012. The Tinsmith. Edmonton, Alberta: Brindle & Glass.
Brundage, D. 2014. “A Writer’s Tension: Reflections on Genre, Place, and Time” Athabaska University. <http://writer-iresidence.athabascau.ca/archive/ TimBowling/docs/TimBowling_Interview.pdf > (Accessed 10 June 2015)
Denton, D. 2008. “Tim Bowling – Interview”. Literary Photographer. <http://literaryphotographer.com/tim-bowling-interview/> (Accessed 10 June 2015)
Leckie, R. 2002. “Bowling, Tim”. Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. Ed. W. H. New. Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press. 148.
Lodge, D. 2002. Consciousness and the Novel. Connected Essays. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
McDowell, A. 2008. “Poet Staves Off Poverty in Exotic Edmonton”. National Post 1 May. <http://www.harbourpublishing.com/author/TimBowling/163> (Accessed 10 June 2015)
Medley, M. 2012. “A River Runs Through Tim Bowling’s The Tinsmith”. National Post 7 November. <http://news.nationalpost.com/afterword/a-river-runs-through-tim-bowlings-the-tinsmith> (Accessed 10 June 2015)
Nancy, J.-L. 2008. Corpus. New York: Fordham University Press. Trans. Richard A. Rand.
Pane, S. 2008. “A Bone to Pick.” Review of The Bone Sharps. Canadian Literature 197: 118-119.
Unknown Author. 2012. “Tim Bowling on Rapacious Greed and the (Relative) Triviality of the Curriculum”. The Winnipeg Review. <http://www.winnipegreview.com/wp/2012/03/tim-bowling-on-rapacious-greed-and-the-relative-triviality-of-the-curriculum/> (Accessed 10 June 2015)
Woolf, V. 1977. The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume I: 1915-1919. London: Penguin Books.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors retain copyright of articles and authorize Journal of English Studies the first publication. They are free to share, redistribute, and/or reprint the article without obtaining permission from the publisher as long as they give appropriate credit to the editor and the journal.
Self-archiving is allowed too. In fact, it is recommendable to deposit a PDF version of the paper in academic and/or institutional repositories.
It is recommended to include the DOI number.
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License