Stephen King and the Contemporary Literary Canon: Strategies of Institutionalization and Legitimation
- Issue:
- Received: 30 Aug. 2025
- Approved after reviewing: 25 Oct. 2025
- Date of publication: 25 Dec. 2025
- УДК / UDK: 821.111(73).0
- Publication Type: Research Article
- DOI:
- EDN:
- Abstract:
This article analyzes the institutional mechanisms through which popular literature becomes part of the contemporary literary canon. Using the case of Stephen King’s transformation from a marginal horror writer to a recognized figure in the academic and cultural mainstream, the author identifies three key strategies of institutionalization: self-legitimation, media recognition, and academic reception. The proposed distinction between canonization, legitimation, and institutionalization, along with the introduction of an analytical model of institutional strategies, constitutes a theoretical contribution to current studies of the literary canon in the postmodern era.
- Keywords: Stephen King, literary canon, canonization, institutionalization, legitimation, authorial reputation, academic reception, popular literature, postmodernism, sociology of literature.
- For citation:
Kireeva, Nataliya. “Stephen King and the Contemporary Literary Canon: Strategies of Institutionalization and Legitimation.” Literature of the Americas, no. 19 (2025): 88–103. https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2025-19-88-103
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