A Theory of Narrative owes its existence to the support of many institutions and individuals. Several chapters were drafted while I was a Fellow of the Cornell Society for the Humanities. Others were developed during my tenure as a University of Iowa Faculty Scholar. Portions of the theory have been worked out in lectures at Bryn Mawr College, the University of Delaware, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, Cornell College, the University of Montreal, and the University of Iowa; presented at the annual meetings of the Modern Language Association, the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and the Midwest Modern Language Association; or published in Diacritics, Medievalia et Humanistica, Olifant, Wide Angle, and South Atlantic Quarterly. I am especially grateful for the interdisciplinary intellectual support I have found in the University of Iowa Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature, and for released time and research assistance provided by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Graduate College at the University of Iowa. Several graduate research assistants have helped me in this projectâthanks especially to Erica Stein and her keen editorial eye. At every step of the way, I have enjoyed active assistance from the Columbia University Press team responsible for producing this book: Jennifer Crewe, Afua Adusei, Roy Thomas, Cynthia Garver, and Milenda Lee. I have also benefited substantially from the comments of two particularly astute outside readers.
A Theory of Narrative would never have seen the light of day had it not been for the many years of discussion, support, and judicious editing that my wife, Janet Elizabeth Gurkin Altman, has contributed to this project.
This book is dedicated to my father, who taught me to think broadly, to avoid gallicisms, and to write with a general reader in mind. This was the last book to benefit from his careful editing. I will miss our weekend telephone editing sessions.