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Intertextuality is a term that is defined variously and, in a sense, cannot be defined categorically and should not be. The term serves as a point of departure for engaging in an academic discourse grounded in differing theoretical and institutional frames. In the wake of poststructuralism, the classical notion of a "definition," a bringing together of scattered particulars, no longer holds together. Though initially defined by Julia Kristeva as a process of constructing a text through selection and inclusion, "intertextuality" has been appropriated by scholars in composition. Using the term to support an expressivist approach, Nancy Kline encourages her students to engage with the "presence" in the text, which in turn is engaged with other presences. James Porter uses the term to counter romantic notions of the writer as an autonomous, creative agent, like E. G. White or Joan Didion. Paul Hunter uses the term to sidestep the problematics of "intersubjectivism," the interpersonal interaction that the discourse community theory assumes; he believes the intertextual matrix is much larger than that given discourse communities. Rather than attempting to measure these theories against some primary source to determine which one qualifies as a misreading, the scholar should, according to Richard Rorty's pragmatism, accept or reject them according to their usefulness. Rorty argues that "definitions" should not be forgotten but should be done without to the extent that it is possible. (TB)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert