Wikipedia

Steve Tomasula

Steve Tomasulais an American novelist, critic, short story, and essay author known for cross-genre narratives that explore conceptions of the self, especially as shaped by language and technology.

Steve Tomasula
Tomasula in 2006
Tomasula in 2006
OccupationAuthor, academic
NationalityAmerican
PeriodContemporary
GenreNovel, short story, criticism
SpouseMaria C. Tomasula
Website
www.stevetomasula

Biography

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Steve Tomasula inSpeaking Portraits

Steve Tomasula grew up along the industrial border betweenEast Chicagoand theSouth Side of Chicago,the locale used as the setting in his novelIN&OZ.[1]He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in English from theUniversity of Illinois, Chicago.[2]While working on his first novel, he taught in the Middle East. After his return, he joined the faculty at theUniversity of Notre Dame,where he is currently a professor of English.[3]Tomasula lives with his wife, the artistMaria Tomasula,inSouth Bend, Indiana,and Chicago.[2]

Works

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Tomasula is the author of five novels, a collection of short fiction, and numerous essays and short stories.[4]His fiction is a hybrid of multiple genres (experimental literature, historical fiction, science writing, poetry) and is noted for its use of visual elements and nonfiction narratives.[5]His writing can be characterized as postmodern and has been called a "reinvention of the novel" for its formal inventiveness, play with language, and incorporation of visual imagery.[6][7]Though he is mostly known for his novels, his short fiction and essays also take up similar themes, especially the depiction of the self as a construction of society.[8]

His first novel,VAS: An Opera in Flatland(with design by Stephen Farrell) is an adaptation of Edwin Abbott's 1884 novelFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.[9]It uses Abbott's characters Square and Circle and the flat, two-dimensional world in which they live to critique contemporary society during the rise of genetic engineering and other body manipulations.[10]His second novel,The Book of Portraiture(with design by Robert Sedlack) is a prequel toVAS.[11]It tells the story of "portraiture" in chapters that move across several centuries, for example: a desert nomad inventing an Alpha bet to depict himself in words; a Renaissance painter depicting nobility; and a 20th-century security expert using surveillance cameras and data-mining techniques to compose portraits of employees.[12][13]TOC: A New-Media Novelis a multimedia novel published on DVD then as aniPad appwith a third edition as a web novel[14](all with design by Stephen Farrell, programming by Christian Jara, and contributions from 15 other artists, composers, musicians, and animators).[15][16]A collage of text, animation, music, and other art forms,TOCexplores competing conceptions of time that shape human lives: historical time, cosmic time, geological time, personal and biological time.[17][18]IN&OZis an allegory of four artists (a designer, poet, composer, and photographer) and an auto mechanic. It has been compared to George Orwell'sAnimal Farmfor its class-consciousness as it follows the story of people trying to find a way to live authentically in a world where individuality is squeezed out by mass-market thought.[19]Ascension: A Noveltakes up the theme of how humans continually remake the conception of nature, and how these new conceptions shape what it means to be human.[20]

Tomasula's short fiction and essays have been included in many literary magazines, includingMcSweeney's,Bomb,andThe Iowa Review.[21]A collection of his short fiction,Once Human: Stories(Fc2, 2013; with design by Robert Sedlack and others), gathers a number of stories that are thematically linked by conceptions of the self as it is shaped by science, technology, and cultural change.[22]

His essays on innovative and conceptual literature, body art and genetic art have appeared in journals such asThe Review of Contemporary Fiction,The New Art ExaminerandLeonardo.Critical volumes in which his essays have been published includeThe Routledge Companion to Experimental Literature(Routledge, 2012);Data Made Flesh: Embodying Information(Routledge, 2012), andMusing the Mosaic(SUNY Press, 2003).[23]

He has given key-note addresses or invited readings from his fiction at numerous universities and institutions, including theLibrary of Congressin the U.S.,[24]and, in Europe,Université Paris 8(France),[25]Plymouth University(England),Paris Sorbonne University(France),[26]and theUniversity of Constantine the Philosopher(Slovakia).[27]

Critical reception

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TheAmerican Book ReviewdescribedVAS: An Opera in Flatlandas "a leap forward for the genre we call 'novel.'"[28]Also in theAmerican Book Review,the literary historianSteven Moorewrote thatThe Book of Portraitureis "brilliant.... The overarching theme of representation and self-portraiture, from cave art to computer code, gives this novel a historical sweep that is breathtaking."[29]Bookforumdescribed it as "a grand historical account," explaining thatThe Book of Portraiture"reimagines what the novel, particularly the historical novel, might mean in the digital world, and it does so with verve, gusto, and style."[30]TOC: A New-Media Novelreceived a gold medal, Best Book of the Year in the eLit Awards, and the Mary Shelley Award for Excellence in Fiction[31]and was described inThe Huffington Postas a "brilliant time machine."[32]Tomasula's short fiction was awarded the Iowa Prize for most distinguished work published in any genre; it was also published in the 2005 Harper Collins anthology ofYear's Best SFand other anthologies.[33]Tomasula's novels are the subject of numerous scholarly and critical conference panels, essays and books, includingThe Body of Writing: An Erotics of Contemporary American Fictionby Flore Chevaillier,[34]How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary TechnogenesisbyN. Katherine Hayles,[35]Out of Mind: Mode, Mediation, and Cognition in Twenty-First-Century Narrativeby Torsa Ghosal,[36]The Moral Worlds of Contemporary Realismby Mary K. Holland,[37]Collage in Twenty-First-Century Literature in English: Art of Crisisby Wojciech Drąg,[38]andSteve Tomasula: The Art and Science of New Media Fictionby David Banash.[39]In 2011 he was named a Howard Fellow.[40]

Bibliography

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  • Tomasula, Steve.Ascension: A Novel.With design by Mervi Pakaste, Daniel Warner and others. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press/Fc2, 2022.ISBN9781573661959
  • Tomasula, Steve (ed.).Conceptualisms: The Anthology of Prose, Poetry, Visual, Found, E- & Hybrid Writing as Contemporary Art.Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2022.ISBN9780817360412
  • Tomasula, Steve.Once Human: Stories.With design by Robert Sedlack and others. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press/Fc2, 2014.ISBN9781573661768
  • Tomasula, Steve.TOC: A New-Media Novel(DVD). With design by Stephen Farrell, Animations by Matt Lavoy, Programing by Christian Jara. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press/Fc2, 2009.ISBN9781573661522.Published asTOC: A New-Media NovelApp for iPad, 2014. Published asTOC: A New-Media Novel,3rd (web) Edition, Blacksburg: Virginia Tech, May 10, 2021.
  • Tomasula, Steve.The Book of Portraiture: A Novel.With design by Robert Sedlack. Tallahassee: University of Florida/Fc2, 2006.ISBN9781573661287
  • Tomasula, Steve.IN & OZ.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.ISBN9780226807447
  • Tomasula, Steve.VAS: An Opera in Flatland.With design by Stephen Farrell. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.ISBN9780226807409.Translated as:Ligature: un Opéra en pays-plat.Anne-Laure Tissut trans. Orléans, France: Les Editions HYX, 2013. Published asVAS: An Opera in Flatland, the Cyborg Edition(Limited edition book and audio CD) University of Chicago Press (book) and Chiasmus Press (CD, slipcase), 2010.ISBN9780981502717

References

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  1. ^Frelik, Pawel (2012). "Afterward: Pawel Frelik Talks with Steve Tomasula."IN & OZ.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 145-151.
  2. ^ab"Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors".gale.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  3. ^University of Notre Dame, faculty page.Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  4. ^Chevaillier, Flore. (2017). “Steve Tomasula” InDivergent Trajectories: Interviews with Innovative Fiction Writers.Columbus: Ohio State University Press. (pp. 212-213).ISBN9780814213438.doi:10.2307/j.ctv1503fwj.17.
  5. ^David Banash, "Conclusion: From the Twentieth-Century's Cutting Edge to the Twenty-First-Century Copy,"Collage Culture: Readymades, Meaning, and the Age of Consumption(pp.243-263). NY: Rodopi, 2013.ISBN9042036818
  6. ^Thacker, Eugene (August 2007). "The Book of Portraiture: A Novel."Leonardo,MIT Press. Vol. 40, Number 4. pp. 403-404.
  7. ^Banash, David (2022-04-08),"Tomasula, Steve",in O'Donnell, Patrick; Burn, Stephen J.; Larkin, Lesley (eds.),The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction 1980–2020(1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 1–5,doi:10.1002/9781119431732.ecaf0223,ISBN978-1-119-43171-8,retrieved2023-06-21
  8. ^Banash, David, & Spain, Andrea (2015). "Composition, Emergence, Sensation: Science and New Media in the Novels of Steve Tomasula." In Banash, David (ed.).Steve Tomasula: The art and science of new media fiction(pp. 3-11). Bloomsbury.doi:10.5040/9781501304811.ch-001
  9. ^Gibbons, Alison. (2012).Multimodality, Cognition, and Experimental Literature.United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. pp. 86-87.ISBN9781136632204.
  10. ^Pham-Thanh, Gilbert (2020) "The Importance of Being Earnest in Flatland.” In Tabbi, J. (ed.).Post-Digital: Dialogues and Debates from Electronic Book Review.New York: Bloomsbury. (pp. 203-206).ISBN9781474292504.
  11. ^Drag, Wojciech (2021) "When We Were Human: Steve Tomasula’sVAS: An Opera in FlatlandandThe Book of Portraiture.”InCollage in Twenty-First-Century Literature in English(p. 145-152). Routledge.ISBN1032239816.
  12. ^Wark, McKenzie (June/July/Sept 2006). "The Book of Portraitureby Steve Tomasula. "Bookforum.Vol. 12, No. 2. p. 55.
  13. ^Holland, Mary K. (2013)Succeeding Postmodernism: Language & Humanism in Contemporary American Literature.(pp. 156-158) NY: Bloomsbury.ISBN978-1-62892-534-0.
  14. ^TOC: A New-Media Novel, 3rd (web) Edition.Blacksburg: The New River Virginia Tech, May 10, 2021.Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  15. ^TOC: A New-Media Novel.Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  16. ^Hayles, Katherine N. (2012)How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis(pp. 106-121). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-32142-8.
  17. ^Pellegrin, Jean-Yves (April–June 2010). "Tactics Against Tic-Toc: Browsing Steve Tomasula's New Media Novel."Études anglaises: revue du monde Anglophone(Paris) Vol. 62 No. 2. pp. 174-190.
  18. ^Hayles, Katherine N. (2012)How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis(pp. 106-121). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-32142-8.
  19. ^Olsen, Lance (July/August 2004). "The Wizard of Outré."American Book Review.pp. 17+.
  20. ^University of Alabama Press:Ascension: A Novel.Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  21. ^Chevaillier, Flore. (2017). “Steve Tomasula” InDivergent Trajectories: Interviews with Innovative Fiction Writers.Columbus: Ohio State University Press. (pp. 212-213).ISBN9780814213438.doi:10.2307/j.ctv1503fwj.17.
  22. ^Banash, David (2022). ‘‘Tomasula, Steve”.The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction 1980–2020,Volume 2 (223), 2. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.ISBN9781119431718.doi:10.1002/9781119431732.ecaf0223
  23. ^Chevaillier, Flore. (2017). “Steve Tomasula” InDivergent Trajectories: Interviews with Innovative Fiction Writers.Columbus: Ohio State University Press. (p. 200).ISBN9780814213438.doi:10.2307/j.ctv1503fwj.17
  24. ^The Library of Congress, Electronic Literature Showcase,April 2013
  25. ^Seminar with Steve Tomasula, Université Paris 8
  26. ^Transatlantica: revue d'études américaines, Vol. 1, 2009.
  27. ^Department of English and American Studies, Word and Image in Contemporary Culture,Univerzity Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre.
  28. ^Fleisher, Kass (Jan./Feb. 2004). "Word Made Flesh and Blood."American Book Review.Vol. 25, No. 2. pp. 3-4.
  29. ^Moore, Steven(November/December 2006). "A Brilliant Stretch of Time."American Book Review,Vol. 28, No. 1. p. 16.
  30. ^Wark, McKenzie (June/July/Sept 2006). "The Book of Portraiture by Steve Tomasula."Bookforum.Vol. 12, No. 2. p. 55.
  31. ^Award Recipients,The Media Ecology Society.
  32. ^"TOC: Steve Tomasula's Brilliant Literary Time Machine".HuffPost.2014-02-14.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  33. ^Year's Best SF 10,New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
  34. ^Chevaillier, Flore (2013).The Body of Writing: An Erotics of Contemporary American Fiction.Columbus: Ohio State UP.
  35. ^Hayles, N. Katherine (2012).How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  36. ^Ghosal, Torsa (2021).Out of Mind: Mode, Mediation, and Cognition in Twenty-First-Century Narrative.Columbus: Ohio State University Press.ISBN978-0-8142-1482-4.
  37. ^Holland, Mary K. (2020)The Moral Worlds of Contemporary Realism.NY: Bloomsbury.ISBN1501362615.
  38. ^Drąg, Wojciech (2021).Collage in Twenty-First-Century Literature in English: Art of Crisis.NY: Routledge.ISBN9781032239811.
  39. ^David Banash (2015).Steve Tomasula: The Art and Science of New Media Fiction.New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
  40. ^George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation, Fellows,Brown University.
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