Abstract

This essay seeks to problematize the effect of citation norms on writing, based on Helen DeWitt’s novel The Last Samurai. It begins with a reflection on intellectual work and its relation to writing, and then moves on to a reading of DeWitt’s novel and comments on its arduous publication process. A process that was contested by the intervention of editors and proofreaders who constantly altered his use of typography in order to standardize it. The aim here, thanks to DeWitt’s battle, is to account for the importance of developing a critical imagination for the humanities that puts non-standardized writing and thinking at the center.