James Arthur Anderson: Methods and Meaning in the Novels of Stephen King

This episode features a discussion with James Arthur Anderson, the author of Methods and Meaning in the Novels of Stephen King. Anderson shares insights into Stephen King’s storytelling, exploring how he taps into universal human emotions, creating suspense and weaving deeper meanings into his horror novels. Anderson also highlights his own approach in writing the book, making academic analysis accessible to the average reader while providing background, narrative techniques, and fascinating quotes from each of King's novels.

LISTENER DISCOUNT CODE: BESTPART

Receive a 25% discount on James' book from McFarland's website by using the code BESTPART at checkout: mcfarlandbooks.com/product/methods-and-meaning-in-the-novels-of-stephen-king

BOOK & DESCRIPTION

Methods and Meaning in the Novels of Stephen King: A Constant Reader’s Guide. McFarland, softcover (2024) mcfarlandbooks.com/product/methods-and-meaning-in-the-novels-of-stephen-king

This book explores the techniques, themes, and subtexts in the fictional works of one of America’s best-known and most-loved storytellers, Stephen King. Each of King’s novels are analyzed in chronological order of their publication from Carrie to Holly. Every novel’s analysis includes a background and summary, narrative devices, archetypes that influenced the novel, themes and subtexts, human universals, interesting facts, and notable quotes. As an invaluable resource for any Stephen King “Constant Reader” and students of literature in general, this work appreciates the beauty of King’s fiction without needing to master the jargon of contemporary literary criticism..

ABOUT JAMES

James Arthur Anderson is Professor Emeritus at Johnson & Wales University, where he taught writing and literature for more than 35 years. He has a B.A. and M.A. from Rhode Island College and a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island. He is the author of several critical studies, including "The Linguistics of Stephen King: Layered Language and Meaning in the Fiction," and "Excavating Stephen King: a Darwinist Hermeneutic Study of the Fiction." He received the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for Nonfiction from the Horror Writers Association in 2016. He lives in Garfield, Georgia and is a part-time instructor at East Georgia State College.

OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES

• The Linguistics of Stephen King (McFarfand)

mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-linguistics-of-stephen-king

• Excavating Stephen King (Lexington Books)

Rowman.com/ISBN/9781793628633/Excavating-Stephen-King-A-Darwinist-Hermeneutic-Study-of-the-Fiction

• The Illustrated Ray Bradbury (Wildside Press)

wildsidepress.com/the-illustrated-ray-bradbury-a-structuralist-reading-of-bradburys-the-illustrated-man-by-james-arthur-anderson-trade-pb

• Out of the Shadows: a Structural Analysis of the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft (Wildside Press)

wildsidepress.com/out-of-the-shadows-a-structuralist-approach-to-understanding-the-fiction-of-h-p-lovecraft-by-james-anderson-trade-pb

FACEBOOK

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ABOUT MCFARLAND

McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and general-interest nonfiction books, is perhaps best known for the serious treatment of popular culture. Founded in 1979, McFarland is recognized among authors and readers as adventurous in range and a reliable source of worthy books that other publishers overlook. They have about 8000 unique works for sale and each year publish about 350 new titles. Meeting high library standards has been a major focus since the company began, and many McFarland books have received awards from the academic-oriented (e.g., Choice Outstanding Academic Title, ALA Outstanding Reference Work) to the mainstream (Hugo, Edgar, Stoker, and Eisner, among others). www.McFarlan