JEROME KLiNKOWITZ
411
incl ude conve nti ona ll y mode rni st works by Nabokov, Becke tt , a nd
Borges, is simila r to hi s own wo rks, in tha t each is essenti all y a
mimes is o f lite ra ture. "Novels whi ch imi tate the form o f the Novel,
by an a uthor who imita tes the role of the Author" a re the books
which Ba rth a pprec ia tes a nd writes himself.
Lite ra ry works which suspend the suspension of d isbeli ef,
which in a nti -Ari sto teli a n fas hi on include the ac t of writing by the
author a nd the ac t o f readin g by the reade r as integral pa rts of their
es the ti c, a re excluded from Ba rth's pa ntheon . H e prefers fi c ti ons
whi ch represe nt , fi cti ons whose eve nts a re me ta phors fo r some thin g
else, not some thing in themsel ves. Fo r Ba rth , fi cti on should fo reve r
be a n imita tion o f a n ac tion , a nd no t a n ac tion in itself.
We regret the death of
HORACE GREGORY
1898-1982
