Where does the name “Cosmopsis” come from?
• John Barth’s second novel The End of the Road has as its main character one Mr. Jacob Horner, who we find out is afflicted with this terrible malady “cosmopsis.” In essence, it is the feeling one gets when they are faced with and must choose between two or more equally plausible possibilities, destinations, etc. Our editors, when reviewing work for publication (or even deciding which book to read next), often lapse into a state of cosmopsis.
