Postmodern Dialectics Of Fiction And History In George Bowering’s Burning Water

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the characteristics of historiographic metafiction manifest themselves in George Bowering’s Burning Water. Bowering’s reading and writing techniques and processes are revealed in this work. He is both reader and author, and his work is a synthesis of intertexts, personal, cultural, and reading experiences and recollections. His interpretations of George Vancouver, the protagonist, depend as much to imagination as to verified historical fact. Burning Water is a satire of exploration writing; one may refer to the work as a re-exploration parody that deals with history. All the central characters of Burning Water attempt to unveil the worlds of other texts. Bowering’s interest in history has some biographical roots. He was influenced by the American’s lessons.