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Talks by Audrey I Taylor

Creatio Fantastica, 2018

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Papers by Audrey I Taylor

A discussion Literature of the Unseen—Visions and (Re)visions of Urban Fantasy collects theoretic... more A discussion Literature of the Unseen—Visions and (Re)visions of Urban Fantasy collects theoretical reflections upon the subgenres of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, along with a brief commentary on the body of text representative for both conventions. Participants include „Creatio Fantastica” editors—Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun, Krzysztof M. Maj, and Barbara Szymczak-Maciejczyk—as well as renowned experts in the field of fantasy studies: Stefan Ekman, author of the first monograph of fantasy map-making, Here Be Dragons. Exploring Fantasy Maps & Settings (2013), and Audrey Taylor, author of Patricia A. McKillip and the Art of Fantasy World-building (2017). Literatura Niewidocznego. Wizje i rewizje urban fantasy 178 Krzysztof M. Maj: Wydawać by się mogło, że w rozmowie o fantastyce miejskiej w numerze poprzedzonym tak znaczną liczbą tekstów teoretycznoliterackich nie muszą być już poruszane kwestie natury genologicznej czy inne naukowe rozstrzygnięcia o podstawowym charakterze. A ...

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This thesis seeks to examine time in the secondary world fantasies of Patricia A. McKillip. Very ... more This thesis seeks to examine time in the secondary world fantasies of Patricia A. McKillip. Very little work has been done previously on McKillip, and none examines such a broad range of her works. Taking a strict definition of secondary world, I investigate McKillip’s fantasy books that fit within this parameter to see whether there is a unifying principal behind time, in all its forms, in her work. Although time has been examined in fantasies that are obviously about time, very little has been done in the style of Mark Currie or Paul Riceour, who examine time in books that contain time but do not seem to be about time. I investigate time in terms of an overall chronotope, and argue that this seems to be one of the past. I argue that McKillip’s works and other fantasy books like hers have a grammar of the past, and that everything in their works is influenced, to a degree, by this grammar. Thematically organised chapters examine sixteen of McKillip’s immersive fantasies. The thesis...

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Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, ho... more Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, however, has been applied so broadly in scholarship that it has become ambiguous and difficult to use in critical discussions. Aiming to contribute to greater clarity in the critical use of the term, this article introduces the concept of critical world-building. This is distinguished from other types of world-building, such as that performed by an author or reader, mainly by the fact that a critic analyses a world through a combination of their sequential presentation, as complete world, and with critical interpretation and theoretical filters in place, applying all three perspectives simultaneously. Two possible approaches to critical world-building are presented, based on the functions of a world's building-blocks and how to interpret those functions. The first approach focuses on a world's "architecture"-its structural and aesthetic system of places-and the form, func...

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Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, ho... more Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, however, has been applied so broadly in scholarship that it has become ambiguous and difficult to use in critical discussions. Aiming to contribute to greater clarity in the critical use of the term, this article introduces the concept of critical world-building. This is distinguished from other types of world-building, such as that performed by an author or reader, mainly by the fact that a critic analyses a world through a combination of their sequential presentation, as complete world, and with critical interpretation and theoretical filters in place, applying all three perspectives simultaneously. Two possible approaches to critical world-building are presented, based on the functions of a world’s building-blocks and how to interpret those functions. The first approach focuses on a world’s “architecture” – its structural and aesthetic system of places – and the form, function, and meaning of those places. The second emphasises the dynamic interplay between building-blocks and their interconnections in a web of explicit, implied, and interpreted information about the world. The authors base their discussion on textual, secondary fantasy worlds but invite applications of critical world-building to other genres and media.

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Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, 2019

A practical demonstration of how critical world-building can be used in reading a world. As a tes... more A practical demonstration of how critical world-building can be used in reading a world. As a test-case, we use the alternate history 'Biographical Notes to "A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Airplanes" by Benjamin Rosenbaum' by Benjamin Rosenbaum (2004). Critical world-building tools are applied to the relation between the fictional worlds and the actual world, to a close-reading of the first sentence of the short-story, and to a thematic interpretation of world elements related to the two female characters.

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World-Building Papers by Audrey I Taylor

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 2021

Secondary worlds are constructed from a wide range of building blocks. In this article, epigraphs... more Secondary worlds are constructed from a wide range of building blocks. In this article, epigraphs that refer to fictional sources in secondary worlds are analyzed in terms of their world-building characteristics. The analysis starts from the (implied) paratextual and intertextual properties of epigraphs that are part of and refer to a secondary world. Four functions of such world-intrinsic epigraphs are explored: the way in which they (1) set a mood that indicates the world’s dominant themes or ethos; (2) give details that extend, explain, and familiarize the fictional world; and (3) provide perspectives with complementary or conflicting worldviews. Finally, (4) how the double nature of fictional epigraphs, as fictional paratexts and as purported quotations from world-intrinsic sources, extends and solidifies the world is addressed. These four functions lead us to conclude that fictional epigraphs deserve thoughtful analysis in any critical world-building endeavor.

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Creatio Fantastica, 2018

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Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, ho... more Imaginary worlds and how they are constructed are central to fiction. The term world-building, however, has been applied so broadly in scholarship that it has become ambiguous and difficult to use in critical discussions. Aiming to contribute to greater clarity in the critical use of the term, this article introduces the concept of critical world-building. This is distinguished from other types of world-building, such as that performed by an author or reader, mainly by the fact that a critic analyses a world through a combination of their sequential presentation, as complete world, and with critical interpretation and theoretical filters in place, applying all three perspectives simultaneously. Two possible approaches to critical world-building are presented, based on the functions of a world’s building-blocks and how to interpret those functions. The first approach focuses on a world’s “architecture” – its structural and aesthetic system of places – and the form, function, and meaning of those places. The second emphasises the dynamic interplay between building-blocks and their interconnections in a web of explicit, implied, and interpreted information about the world. The authors base their discussion on textual, secondary fantasy worlds but invite applications of critical world-building to other genres and media.

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Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, 2019

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Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 2021

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