Overview

“Deep time” is a term which attempts to capture temporal scales far beyond human comprehension. These are stretches of time epitomised by geological and cosmic scale processes, vast enough to make the entirety of human existence appear as little more than a footnote. The past few years have seen a boom in texts dedicated to the study of deep time, extending across a broad range of disciplines which fall markedly outside of its geological roots. These studies are unified by two ideas in particular: that deep time thinking and ecocriticism should be considered in conjunction, and that literature and the arts play a vital role in fostering a deep time awareness. Digressions in Deep Time is the first collection of essays which considers the multifarious representations of deep time across literature and the arts, assembling the work of a wide range of prominent scholars whose research frequently engages with temporality and ecocriticism. Featured contributions include work by the Pulitzer-prize winning author John McPhee, who popularised the term deep time in the late seventies, as well as chapters by Richard Irvine (author of An Anthropology of Deep Time), Benjamin Morgan (author of The Outward Mind) and Andrew Tate (author of Apocalyptic Fiction).

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9781666948417

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This is both a deeply significant and timely intervention in the field of ecocriticism. Befitting its subject, the book ranges widely from classical antiquity to Ali Smith, T.S. Eliot to videogames, John Cage to graphic novels. Deep time may defy human comprehension but these essays demonstrate the importance of art and literature for making climate science accessible to human understanding. --Paul March-Russell, author of Modernism and Science Fiction

Author Information

Declan Lloyd is professor and teaches across the English Literature, History, Film, Art and Sociology departments at Lancaster University. Warren Mortimer is lecturer and poet, and holds a PhD in creative writing from Lancaster University.

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