The Politics and Poetics of Camp

by Meyer, Moe

• ISBN13: 9780415082488
• ISBN10: 041508248X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-01-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Politics and Poetics of Campis a radical reappraisal of the discourse of camp. The contributors to this volume examine both activist strategies of camp performance--such as those employed by ACTUP--and theoretical debates on the meaning of camp as a signifying practice. They ask whether camp is a frivolous, apolitical style or a powerful cultural critique and expression of queer identity. The essays investigate camp from its early formations in the seventeenth and eighteenth century homosexual subculture of London to its present manifestations in queer theatre and literature. They also take a fascinating look at the complex relationship between queer discourse and decidedly "un-queer" pop culture appropriations on film. An incisive and entertaining collection of essays by some of the foremost critics now working in queer theory--from a number of disciplinary perspectives--The Politics and Poetics of Campmakes a well-timed entry into this emergingdebate. Contributors include Gregory Bredbeck, Kate Davy, Thomas King, Margaret Thompson Drewal, Chuck Kleinhans, Cynthia Morrell, Martin Worman, and Jerome Schultz.

Table of Contents

List of plates
List of contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Reclaiming the discourse of Camp	p. 1
Performing "Akimbo": Queer pride and epistemological prejudice	p. 23
Narcissus in the Wilde: Textual cathexis and the historical origins of queer Camp	p. 51
Under the Sign of Wilde: An archaeology of posing	p. 75
Revamping the Gay Sensibility: Queer Camp and dyke noir	p. 110
Fe/Male Impersonation: The discourse of Camp	p. 130
The Camp Trace in Corporate America: Liberace and the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall	p. 149
Taking Out the Trash: Camp and the politics of parody	p. 182
Index	p. 202
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