Happy Sisyphus broaches in nine essays and an interview a few questions central to periodical studies. It addresses methodology (I. “Approaches”) and case studies (II. “Forms and Figures”). It situates literary and artistic journals within the broader movement of print, questions the division between major and minor, and shows interactions with other cultural forms within the media ecology.
Part I stresses the contribution of material bibliography, images, interdisciplinarity and reticular analysis, revealing the limits of tenacious terminology (petite revue, little magazine). It emphasizes porosities.
Part II shows the role of magazines in cultural industry (celebrities, songs, fashion, cruises). It relates to the spirit that animates them, the figures that inhabit them, their imagination and poetics, all topics that generally retain less attention.
Happy Sisyphus combines textual and visual studies, literary and historical analysis, history of print and representations, and examines the periodicals’ imaginary take. Its objective is to highlight artistic and literary journals within a nuanced cultural history.