BOOK REVIEW

CANDY FLOSS COLLECTION (3 NOVELS) BY PATRICIA LEAVY IS A TRIUMPHANT WORK OF ART

Authors

  • U. Melissa Anyiwo Curry College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29573

Keywords:

fiction, fiction-based research, arts-based research, research methods, women's lives

Abstract

Leading methodologist and arts-based researcher, Patricia Leavy, pioneered the method of social fiction, fiction-based research, or fiction as a research practice. Her latest release, Candy Floss Collection, is a set of three previously published novels, which together form installation art. This definitive and beautifully rendered work is important for several reasons. First, it demonstrates the power of fiction as a research method. Second, it is a beautiful piece of art. Third, it centres on powerful content, telling important and often invisible stories about women’s lives, aspirations, relationships, and daily struggles. Finally, this collection is a well-crafted piece of public scholarship that is imminently accessible to audiences inside and outside of academia. Overall, Candy Floss Collection is a triumphant piece of art, an exemplar of fiction as research, a highly accessible piece of public scholarship, and an engaging read. This is a significant and even game-changing work and ought to be recognized as such.

Author Biography

U. Melissa Anyiwo, Curry College

U. Melissa Anyiwo, Ph.D., is a Professor and Coordinator of African American Studies at Curry College, Massachusetts and Co-Chair of the Vampire Studies Area of the National Popular Cultures Association. She has published multiple texts on the vampire as ethnic and gendered archetype.

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Published

2021-04-22

How to Cite

Anyiwo, U. M. (2021). BOOK REVIEW: CANDY FLOSS COLLECTION (3 NOVELS) BY PATRICIA LEAVY IS A TRIUMPHANT WORK OF ART. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 6(1), 251–259. https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29573