The articles in this collection focus attention on the concept of literature and on the relationship between this concept and the concepts of a literary work and a literary text. Adopting an analytic approach, the articles attempt to clarify how these concepts govern our thinking about the phenomenon of literature in various ways, exploring the issues which arise when these concepts are employed as theoretical instruments for describing and analyzing the phenomenon of literature.

ERIK BJERCK HAGEN Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Bergen, NORWAY SOREN KJORUP Professor of Theory and History of the Humanities, Roskilde University, DENMARK PAISLEY LIVINGSTON Professor of Philosophy, Lingnan University, HONG KONG BO PETTERSSON Professor of Swedish and Comparative Literature, Umea University, SWEDEN TORSTEN PETTERSSON Professor of Literature, Uppsala University, SWEDEN LARS-OLOF AHLBERG Professor of Aesthetics, Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, SWEDEN