BIOGRAPHY
Dr Mary Talbot is the author of the graphic novel Dotter of her Father’s Eyes (Jonathan Cape 2012), illustrated by her husband, award winning comic artist Bryan Talbot. She is an internationally acclaimed scholar who has published widely on language, gender and power, particularly in relation to media and consumer culture. Dotter is the first work she has undertaken in the graphic novel format.
Winner the 2012 Costa Biography Award, the Costa judges describe it as a ‘strikingly original graphic memoir which links two lives in a highly imaginative way.’ It is a combination of graphic memoir and biography that intertwines the coming-of-age narratives of two daughters. Their fathers connect them. Both fathers are wrapped up in their own writing: one a Joycean scholar, the other James Joyce himself. History, social expectations and their fathers’ ambitions for them set them apart. A Spanish edition came out last September and other foreign language editions are currently in preparation.
She has recently completed a second graphic novel script for Jonathan Cape. Sally Heathcote, Suffragette charts the fortunes of a maid-of-all-work as she is swept up in the feminist activism of the Edwardian era in England. It is currently being illustrated by Kate Charlesworth, with Bryan Talbot doing the lettering and detailed layouts. Mary’s recent non-fiction includes a second edition of Language and Gender (Polity 2010), a book that continues to be popular with university lecturers and students worldwide. However, she’s probably still best known for her critical investigation of the “synthetic sisterhood” offered by teen magazines.
Born in Wigan in 1954, Mary married Bryan and moved to Preston in 1972, where she brought up two sons, wrote poetry and short stories. She studied English Literature and Linguistics at Preston Polytechnic as a mature student, graduating in 1982 with a first class BA in Combined Studies. She later went on to study at Lancaster University, completing with a PhD on Critical Discourse Analysis in 1990. Employment as Reader in Language and Culture took her to Sunderland in 1997. She has held academic posts in higher education for over twenty-five years, mostly in England, but also in Wales, Denmark and China. In 2004 she was invited as Visiting Professor to Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou. She has been a freelance writer since 2009.
BOOKS:
Language and Gender 2nd edition (Polity, 2010)
Media Discourse: Representation and Interaction (Edinburgh University Press, 2007)
Language and Power in the Modern World (with Karen Atkinson and David Atkinson) (Edinburgh University Press/University of Alabama Press, 2003)
‘All the World and her Husband’: Women in 20th Century Consumer Culture (with Maggie Andrews) (Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2000)
Language and Gender 1st edition (Polity, 1998) Fictions at Work (Longman, 1995) Studies in Valency (Odense University Press, 1995)
ITALIAN VERSION
BIOGRAFIA IN BREVE
Mary Talbot è l’autrice della graphic novel Dotter of her Father’s Eyes (Jonathan Cape 2012), illustrato da suo marito, il pluripremiato disegnatore di fumetti Bryan Talbot. Lei è una studiosa di fama internazionale che ha pubblicato ampiamente sulla lingua, sesso e potere, in particolare in relazione ai mezzi di comunicazione e cultura del consumo. Dotter rappresenta il primo lavoro che ha intrapreso nel campo del fumetto. Vincitore del premio “Costa 2012 sez. Biografia”, I giudici del Costa la (graphic novel) descrivono come “un memoriale (monografia) grafico sorprendentemente originale che unisce (collega) due vite in un modo estremamente fantasioso”. E’ una fusione (combinazione) di memoriale (monografia) grafico e biografia che intreccia i racconti della maggiore età (maturità? Età adulta) di due figlie. I loro padri le mettono in contatto. Entrambi i padri sono assorbiti (avvolti – letteralmente) nella loro stessa scrittura: l’uno è uno studioso di Joyce, l’altro James Joyce stesso. La storia, le aspettative sociali e le ambizioni paterne nei loro confronti le dividono. Una edizione spagnola è uscito lo scorso settembre e altre edizioni in lingua straniera sono attualmente in preparazione.
Ha da poco completato lo script della sua seconda graphic novel per l’editore Jonathan Cape. “Sally Heathcote, Suffragette” traccia le sorti di una donna tuttofare quando viene travolta nel’attivismo femminista dell’era Edoardiana in Gran Bretagna. Attualmente è in fase di realizzazione, delle illustrazioni, a cura di Kate Charlesworth, con Bryan Talbot che sta facendo il lettering e gli sfondi delle pagine.
La produzione libraria recente (non-fiction) di Mary include una seconda edizione di “Language and Gender – Lingua e genere” (Polity 2010), un libro che continua ad essere popolare tra i docenti universitari e studenti di tutto il mondo. Tuttavia, lei è probabilmente ancora più conosciuta per la sua indagine critica della “synthetic sisterhood – sorellanza sintetico”, cioè dell’immagine femminile sintetica (superficiale) offerta dalle riviste per i teenegers (adolescenti) .
Nata a Wigan nel 1954, Mary ha sposato Bryan e si trasferisce a Preston nel 1972, dove ha cresciuto due figli, ha scritto poesie e racconti brevi. Ha studiato Letteratura e Linguistica inglese a Politecnico di Preston, laureandosi nel 1982 con una laurea di prima classe in studi combinati. Ha poi continuato a studiare presso l’Università di Lancaster, completando con un dottorato di ricerca sulla Critical Discourse Analysis nel 1990. Il Lavoro come lettore di lingua e cultura la portò a Sunderland nel 1997. Ha ricoperto incarichi accademici dell’istruzione superiore, per oltre 25 anni, soprattutto in Inghilterra, ma anche in Galles, Danimarca e Cina. Nel 2004 è stata invitato come “Visiting Professor” a Sun Yat-Sen University di Guangzhou. E’ una scrittrice freelance dal 2009.
NOTIZIE RELATIVE AI SUOI LIBRI
I testi sono stati estratti dal suo sito http://www.mary-talbot.co.uk/
Language, Intertextualtiy and Subjectivity: Voices in the Construction of Consumer Femininity (Lambert Academic, 2010)
Language and Gender 2nd edition (Polity, 2010)
Critical acclaim for Language and Gender:
”This new edition of an indispensable textbook provides a clear and engaging overview of foundational research and current trends in the interdisciplinary study of language, gender and sexuality. Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, this text will serve as an essential guide for new generations of students. It is also a valuable resource for researchers seeking to update themselves on recent developments in this dynamic field.” (Professor Mary Bucholtz, University of California)
”Mary Talbot’s book provides a comprehensive, theoretically sophisticated and accessible introduction to the field of language and gender. Unlike other language and gender textbooks, Talbot foregrounds the importance of language and gender studies in the analysis of popular culture and mass media ‘texts’. Thus, Talbot’s book will appeal not only to students and scholar of linguistics, but to anyone with a serious interest in cultural studies.” (Professor Susan Ehrlich, York University, Toronto)
”The author moves smoothly and coherently from more traditional approaches to language and gender through to very recent research in areas such as discourse and consumerism, and language, gender and sexuality. Different approaches, including Critical Discourse Analysis and social constructionism, are demonstrated, and difficult concepts are clearly and comprehensibly presented. Mary Talbot’s own research enriches and enlivens the discussion throughout. The text is extensively illustrated with interesting examples, many of which are taken from recent published research, thus introducing students to relevant and authentic material.” Professor Janet Holmes, Victoria University of Wellington)
”I just wanted you to know that your book, though required, is one of the most inspiring books I’ve read. Your insights are revolutionary and I have greatly enjoyed reading them … I feel it necessary to give respect where it is due. So, thank you very much for providing a light of inspiration.”
(Email from Amy, student in San Diego)
Media Discourse: Representation and Interaction (Edinburgh University Press, 2007)
Critical acclaim for Media Discourse:
”Drawing on numerous examples of TV, radio and print media, her analyses strike a lovely balance between text and context, without overinterpreting either one. This makes for lucid, poignant and convincing reading … I particularly like how she puts the finger on features of pastiche and parody.” (Dr Tom van Hout, Ghent University)
”Drawing on theories from media studies, cultural studies, CDA, linguistic anthropology and reception research, Talbot analyzes media extracts from different perspectives which render the study comprehensive. … Written in a clear and lively way, this book is worth recommending to anyone who is interested in discourse studies.”
(Dr Song Guo, Tianjin University of Commerce, China)
Language and Power in the Modern World (with Karen Atkinson and David Atkinson) (Edinburgh University Press/University of Alabama Press, 2003)
Critical acclaim for Language and Power:
”The strength of Language and Power in the Modern World is the background it provides in the analytic paradigm of Critical Discourse Analysis … This book is a welcome synthesis of the topic of language and power in our modern world. It succinctly brings together a variety of work that forms an integrated picture of the topics, work that is of theoretical importance and practical use for a critical study of language and power.”
(Dr Adams Hodges, University of Colorado)
All the World and her Husband’: Women in 20th Century Consumer Culture (with Maggie Andrews) (Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2000)
Critical acclaim for Women in Consumer Culture:”The exploration of women’s consumer power in some chapters is checked in others which focus instead on the interpellating function of consumer discourses and consumer culture’s commodified versions of power which has co-opted even feminism itself … this is a very useful book.” (Dr Angeliki Spiropoulou, University of the Peleponnese)
Language and Gender 1st edition (Polity, 1998)
Fictions at Work (Longman, 1995)
