The Mechanic Muse (Oxford Paperbacks) - Softcover

"[A] splendid exploration of the relation between the mechanization of society and the literary imagination....immensely readable."--Washington Times Magazine "[Kenner's] new book on the influence of technology...on the literature of high modernism provides plenty of moment-by-moment evidence of why one should...find [him] the most lucid and riveting literary critic of his generation....Astonishing and satisfying."--Virginia Quarterly Review "Kenner writes with such grace and generosity as to create in the mind of the reader the illusion of being as smart and well-read as Hugh Kenner."--The Harvard Bookshelf "In this book,...there is more than enough fresh thinking and stimulating insights to warrant following him in new directions."--Magill's Literary Annual "The basic elements of Kenner's style are all to be found here--the anecdotes, the facts, the judgments passed."--Boston Phoenix "Provocative and often entertaining."--ISIS "Kenner is both learned and playful, teasing ideas out of a wealth of fascinating detail. Highly recommended."--Library Journal "As long as Hugh Kenner is on the job, the holes that the great Modernists left in their texts will not be filled in by mistake, and the artifacts of the great innovators will be scrupulously maintained."--American Literature

With his customary wit and erudition, one of America's most celebrated and distinguished critics examines the response of literary Modernism to environmental changes caused by technology. Focusing on Eliot, Pound, Joyce, and Beckett, Hugh Kenner explores how inventions as various as the linotype, the typewriter, and the computer altered the way these writers viewed and depicted the world.

'splendid exploration of the relation between the mechanization of society and the literary imagination ... Immensely readable.' Washington Times Magazine