Hosed . . . from Norton

When editors embarked on the prodigious enterprise of compiling the The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, they stumbled upon one problem — the volume was a little too prodigious.

At 2,900 pages, 500 more pages than executives at W.W. Norton Co., Inc. expected, and including more than 160 authors spanning 25 centuries, the anthology needed some good editing.

"It was getting to the point that Norton was going to have to give out a suitcase with every anthology to lug the thing around," associate English professor at the University of Missouri Jeffrey Williams joked.

After five years of editing, the publisher, Peter Simon, asked the volume's general editor, University of Oklahoma English professor Vincent Leitch, to winnow it by at least 300 pages. This initiated a process that would exclude such prominent thinkers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and University English professor Elaine Showalter.

The first chapter of Showalter's "A Literature of Their Own," in which she discusses British women writers as a 19th century subculture, was cut. Showalter declined to comment, but English department chair Michael Wood said, "I think she's a really important force, and I think she should be there."

Leitch explained that there were 10 criteria the editorial board evaluated — significance, influence, uniqueness, poignancy, pertinence, readability, teachability, resonance, length, balance and representation.

According to Williams, it was because of the need for balance and representation that Showalter was cut from the anthology. Though the collection as a whole includes just 20 percent female writers, Leitch said about 60 percent of the late 20th century theorists are women. And as Williams explained, the abundance of feminist writers causes many important thinkers to be cut.

"Even though she was in the penultimate cut is quite an honor," Williams said.

To complete the final cut, Leitch asked each of the five other editors to nominate two or three figures to be deleted from the anthology. The board, however, decided to consent on cuts as a group, drawing up lists of candidates for exclusion.

In addition to Williams, the members of the editorial board included Wellesley College English professor William Cain, Harvard University English professor Barbara Johnson, Director of Women's and Gender Studies at Kenyon College Laurie Finke and John McGowan, an English and comparative literature professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The board cut 21 theorists completely and trimmed selections from three others. Simon, the publisher, started with about 50 authors for inclusion when he began work on the book in 1994. He then enlisted Leitch, who wrote "American Literary Criticism from the 1930s to the 1980s," to make further selections. Leitch returned with 250 thinkers in the summer of 1996, and the editing began.

Though Simon expects the anthology to become a key tool for college English departments — and spent some $70,000 to secure publication permissions — some professors feel the text is 10 years too late.

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"It's a bit too late to be considering it," said Wood, who has taught ENG 370: The History of Criticism, adding that he would not likely use an anthology in his course. "[Literary theory] is much more integrated now than it was."

However, Simon argues that the volume holds particular relevance to hundreds of classes that are taught in colleges across the country. He estimates 12,000 students each year take courses on the history of criticism or contemporary approaches to literature.

"Most of the people don't require literature in a course on critical approaches," Simon said. "They are in fact studying the seminal material instead."

The University's English department offers two courses on literary theory in varying semesters — ENG 370 and ENG 371: Contemporary Literary Theory.

Though Showalter failed to make the final cut for the anthology, several other writers with Princeton connections are included, such as Edward Said '57, Sandra Gilbert, a former tenured professor and numerous visiting professors and guest lecturers.

Now winnowed to 139 theorists and approximately 2,600 pages including annotations and bibliography, the anthology is currently available in exam copy.