"What is an author"

         I thought it would be interesting to look up the word “author” and opted for two definitions…1) a person who writes a novel, poem, essay, etc.; the composer of a literary work and 2) the maker of anything; creator; originator. With this, in Foucalt’s “What is an author”, the focus is on the relationship between the text and the author and the different aspects of the work and how it comes to be. Foucalt goes on to exemplifying that “today” there are so many different ways to write, yet this has not always been the case. Writing tends to be “identified through its own works” and can be somewhat of a sacrifice for the writer, not necessarily an author, because it is not always represented in society (books of some importance, so to speak). And for this reason, “In writing, the point is not to manifest or exalt the act of writing, nor is it to pin a subject within language; it is rather, a question of creating a space into which the writing subject constantly disappears” (102). Therefore, the writing is so profound that the subject isn’t always the present, and this is where I think definition 2 can come in to play, since writing pertains to the “creator/originator” of different concepts that transcend to different audiences throughout time. So then it can be said that the context of certain texts is important to be able to understand the meaning of the writing but this context does not limit its appeal to different audiences. Next, Foucalt goes into the function of the author which is dependent of “certain discourses within society” so that he can be connected with a given “mode” and be classified under this “status”. And this is the author’s discourse. Furthermore, in order for the author to keep his “authenticity”, four criteria are proposed and they all lead to omitting any type of work that does not pertain to their specific style, theoretical coherence, level of value and historical context. With this, it can be implied that texts always give away certain characteristics of an author; therefore, this creates his specific style. In conclusion there was an instance in the text where it was stated that writing can kill, it has the right to do this. So in the end, what creates an author and does he still exist? I would like to leave with this quote “…an anonymous text posted on a wall probably has a writer but not an author”.