4. From Paratext to Polyprocess:
The “Quirky” Mashup Novel
Eckart Voigts
Abstract
Applying broad notions of adaptation, this chapter seeks to bring “recombinant adaptation” – mashups and remixes on digital platforms – in dialogue
with Gérard Genette’s idea of the paratext as a text’s “relations with the
public.” It takes four steps towards investigating how literary publishing
houses such as Quirk Books respond to recombinant adaptation. Firstly,
it delineates the paratexts of mashup novels as performative zones of
transaction. Secondly, it examines the question of how paratexts regulate
the quasi-religious textuality of fandom participation. Thirdly, it looks at
the role of paratextual canonization within this textuality. And finally, it
argues that printed products within the field attempt to perform a nostalgic
authorization and re-materialization of literature, highlighting the haptic
and material qualities of the book. Adapting the term “polytext,” the
chapter calls these multifarious paratextual transactions the “polyprocess.”
Key words: Paratext; mashup novel; recombinant adaptation; fandom;
polytext/polyprocess; remix
Introduction
This essay seeks to bring the field of “recombinant adaptation” – mashups
and remixes on digital platforms – in dialogue with the Genettian idea of
the paratext. Genette held that paratexts shape a given text’s “relations
with the public.” 1 More recently, Jonathan Gray has applied the notion of
1 Gérard Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, trans. Jane E. Lewin (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1997), 14.
Fehrle, J. and W. Schäfke, Adaptation in the Age of Media Convergence, Amsterdam University
Press, 2019
doi 10.5117/9789462983663_ch04
The “Quirky” Mashup Novel
Eckart Voigts
Abstract
Applying broad notions of adaptation, this chapter seeks to bring “recombinant adaptation” – mashups and remixes on digital platforms – in dialogue
with Gérard Genette’s idea of the paratext as a text’s “relations with the
public.” It takes four steps towards investigating how literary publishing
houses such as Quirk Books respond to recombinant adaptation. Firstly,
it delineates the paratexts of mashup novels as performative zones of
transaction. Secondly, it examines the question of how paratexts regulate
the quasi-religious textuality of fandom participation. Thirdly, it looks at
the role of paratextual canonization within this textuality. And finally, it
argues that printed products within the field attempt to perform a nostalgic
authorization and re-materialization of literature, highlighting the haptic
and material qualities of the book. Adapting the term “polytext,” the
chapter calls these multifarious paratextual transactions the “polyprocess.”
Key words: Paratext; mashup novel; recombinant adaptation; fandom;
polytext/polyprocess; remix
Introduction
This essay seeks to bring the field of “recombinant adaptation” – mashups
and remixes on digital platforms – in dialogue with the Genettian idea of
the paratext. Genette held that paratexts shape a given text’s “relations
with the public.” 1 More recently, Jonathan Gray has applied the notion of
1 Gérard Genette, Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, trans. Jane E. Lewin (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1997), 14.
Fehrle, J. and W. Schäfke, Adaptation in the Age of Media Convergence, Amsterdam University
Press, 2019
doi 10.5117/9789462983663_ch04