Joyce Carol Oates, On Boxing

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Joyce Carol Oates's book-length essay

On Boxing

is at once a concise survey of the “unique, closed, self-referential world” inhabited by professional boxers (13) and a searching analysis of the cultural and metaphysical dimensions of prizefighting. Oates's lifelong fascination with boxing, sparked by her father's enthusiasm for the sport, intensified during the mid-1980s when she embarked on research for her novel

You Must Remember This

(1987), a vivid representation of post-war America that features pugilism as a prominent theme. The material gathered in the course of her research provided the basis for what would eventually become a study of America's most controversial sporting tradition. Although

On Boxing

now occupies an important place within Oates's extensive canon, its genesis…

3400 words

Citation: Sheridan, Julie. "On Boxing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=28511, accessed 19 March 2024.]

28511 On Boxing 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.