Chasm of Literary Transience

In the world of reading and writing, we have always observed that a certain ‘gap’ must exist between the one who’s penning and the one who’s reading. This gap has been discussed by the poststructuralist thinkers in a way that it provides food for thought. This food for thought is most essential for thinkers and writers of our current epoch.

Nomenclature of this gap is a matter of sheer intrigue. In the world of academia, the process of naming is always a beautiful one. This gap – where the text stands alone, ready to shed its author’s intent and to absorb the essence of its reader’s interpretation – is characterized by ephemerality.

In one of The Order of Pen’s recent live sessions, whilst discussing Roland Barthes and his idea of ‘The Author’s Death’, Fatima Ali Shah and Eman Shumail – two students of English literature – came up with the idea of naming the ‘gap’.

Here is why we think it can be termed as the ‘Chasm of Literary Transience’:

1- The ‘Gap’ is a deep one. It is multilayered and its existence is deepening with the increase in the convolutions of human brain. Hence, the term ‘Chasm’ is befitting.

2- Transience is the defining feature of the gap. The text is transitioning from author’s property to reader’s property.

3- The term ‘Literary’ is befitting because in this era of conglomerization, anything and everything can be categorized as ‘Literature’ and ‘Literary’.

All these assertions lead to one thought: There is still a plethora of ideas that are unexplored and theories that are yet to be brought to existence.

Let’s never cease thinking, reading and writing!