Space

Space and spatiality show up in scholarly writing, fiction and other genres in many different ways, from authors who highlight the spatial context of a narrative, events, and plot, to writers who emphasise the spatialities of authorship, readership, and textual presentation. This chapter examines a number of the different strands of spatial thinking which have influenced the contemporary field of literary geography. This includes philosophical, geometric, mathematical, and physical approaches to space, as well as theoretical ideas imported from different strands of socio-spatial theory. The chapter suggests that if a 'spatial turn' has happened in fields like literary studies and history, then this is less a singular and consistent rethinking of approaches than a partial rupture or fracturing which has sent minor shock-waves in quite different directions. Space cannot simply be represented or figured as a singular setting, location, or thing, and if scholars take relational and processual approaches seriously, then space should be approached as an action performed through practices of writing, publishing, distributing, reading, and interpreting texts. The spaces formed as a result of these practices are always multiple and never cease to be in process.