Conceptions of the Absurd: From Surrealism to Chestov's and Fondane's Existential Thought Contributor(s): Fotiade, Ramona (Author) |
|
ISBN: 1900755475 ISBN-13: 9781900755474 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $56.95 Product Type: Paperback Published: August 2001 Annotation: No century in history questioned the meaning of existence or manifested such intense fascination with 'the absurd' as the twentieth. Of the varying interpretations of the absurd to attract French intellectuals and artists in the 1920s and 30s, two competing conceptions were to provide major reference points: the Surrealist 'free functioning of thought', and the existential critique of rational discourse elaborated by Leon Chestov (1866-1938) and Benjamin Fondane (1898-1944). While examining the existential line of interpretation, Fotiade shows that Chestov and Fondane's project found support and illustration in the dissident views held by authors working on the boundaries of Surrealism (including Artaud, Gilbert-Lecomte and Daumal). |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Movements - Existentialism - Philosophy | History & Surveys - Modern - Philosophy | Movements - Phenomenology |
Dewey: 149 |
Physical Information: 0.78" H x 5.64" W x 8.54" (0.93 lbs) 259 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: The concept of the Absurd was a source of fascination for artists and intellectuals throughout the twentieth century. Two interpretations in particular were to provide major reference points for French writers in the 1920s and 1930s: the Surrealist 'free functioning of thought', and the existential critique of rational discourse elaborated by LEon Chestov (1866-1938) and Benjamin Fondane (1898-1944). In this highly original study, Fotiade examines the less familiar existential line, and shows that Chestov and Fondane's project found support and illustration in the force-field of the Surrealist movement. The work of such dissident writers as Antonin Artaud, Roger Gilbert-Lecomte and RenE Daumal takes on entirely new meanings when considered in this wider intellectual context. |