The Imperative to WriteIs writing haunted by a categorical imperative? Does the Kantian sublime continue to shape the writers vocation, even for twentieth century authors? What precise shape, form, or figure does this residue of sublimity take in the fictions that follow from itand that leave it in ruins? This book explores these questions through readings of three authors who bear witness to an ambiguous exigency: writing as a demanding and exclusive task, at odds with