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''Pym'' is the third novel by American author Mat Johnson, published on March 1, 2011. A satirical fantasy inspired by ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'', Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, the book explores racial politics and identity in America, and Antarctica. The novel was written over a period of nine years and has been well received by critics, who have praised its lighthearted and humorous style of social criticism. ==Development history== ''Pym'' takes its title from Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'', "a strange tale of shipwrecks, mutiny and a mysterious island inhabited by black-skinned people whose teeth are even black, and it ends abruptly at the South Pole with Pym facing haunting white figures".〔 Poe's only novel, it is the favorite book of Johnson's protagonist, Chris Jaynes, African-American professor of literature,〔Jonathan Messinger (March 1, 2011). ("Pym by Mat Johnson. Edgar Allan Poe gets dragged down to Antarctica." ) ''Time Out Chicago''.〕 and his obsession with it leads him on his own journey to Antarctica.〔 According to Johnson, creating the book involved "9 years of writing, 16 drafts, () 3 deletion attempts ()"〔Mat Johnson (March 1, 2011). (Mat Johnson's Twitter feed ).〕 While working on ''Pym'', Johnson also finished three critically acclaimed graphic novels – ''Hellblazer: Papa Midnite'' (2005), ''Incognegro'' (2008), ''Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story'' (2010) – and a fourth, as yet unnamed graphic novel scheduled for publication in 2012.〔Mike Emery (2011). ("Faculty Spotlight: Mat Johnson's 'Pym' continues Poe's arctic adventure" ), University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.〕 In an interview with Mike Emery, Johnson stated that there were many times when he thought that ''Pym'' "was taking too much of my time, and it was taking me in the wrong direction".〔 He credits his wife, journalist Meera Bowman Johnson (to whom he dedicated ''Pym''), and friends with convincing him to continue with the novel.〔 Johnson's website features a list of books by other notable writers inspired by Poe's open-ended novel since its publication in 1838, including Herman Melville's ''Moby Dick'', H. P. Lovecraft's ''At the Mountains of Madness'', and Jules Verne's ''An Antarctic Mystery'' – "the most pragmatic and literal sequel to ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym'' and also the worst sequel () Come for the novelty, stay for the unbridled racism".〔Mat Johnson (2011). ("Pym Sequels" ), matjohnson.info.〕 The narrative of ''Pym'' also includes elements from Verne's and Lovecraft's Poe-inspired works.〔 In ''Pym'', Johnson's protagonist named a course on Poe he was teaching in reference to Toni Morrison's 1992 collection of essays ''Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination'', in which she explores the theory that for Poe, whiteness equalled perfection.〔 Professor Jaynes's course, "Dancing With the Darkies: Whiteness in the Literary Mind", attempted to trace the roots of America's failure to become a postracial society to classic white texts, with a focus on Poe.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pym (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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