Why has classical rhetoric been a subject of such growing interest for the past ten years? Because the most exciting work in classical rhetoric has asked us to rethink classical concepts in modern terms. What's been missing, at least in book-length form, is a scholarly rethinking of rhetorical memory and delivery. As many scholars have been noting in their work for some time now, three of five classical issues — invention, arrangement, and style — have dominated rhetorical studies while the other two — memory and delivery — have largely been misunderstood or ignored. Re-examined in light of recent research on orality, literacy, and electronic technology, rhetorical memory and delivery issues can become not only central to the field but also key to the continued interest in classical rhetoric.
Bringing together national scholars from a variety of related disciplines in which rhetorical memory and delivery issues matter, this collection is the only volume that examines classical and contemporary interpretations of rhetorical memory and delivery in depth and detail.