Antonin Artaud And The Healing Practices Of Language

"The life of Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) was tormented by physical and mental illnesses. In his earlier writings, Artaud tried to express his physical and mental suffering, but perceived, in describing his feelings, the obstructive and illness-inducing role of language. This is the first book written in English that analyses Artaud's engagement with a healing language in his later works. Joeri Visser guides us through the years in which Artaud suffered more and more from mental instability and considered the act of writing his only means of survival. In doing so, Visser unfolds a literary and a philosophical analysis of how language and life work together and how a creative play with language can help us to reengage sustainably with the joyous as well as the terrible forces of life."--

The life of Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) was tormented by physical and mental illnesses. Already in his earlier works, Artaud tried to express his physical and mental suffering, but perceived, in describing his feelings, the obstructive and illness-inducing role of language. This is the first book written in English that analyses the role of a healing language with which Artaud engaged in his later writings. Joeri Visser guides us through the years in which Artaud suffered increasingly from mental instability and considered the act of writing his only means of survival. In doing so, Visser unfolds a literary and a philosophical analysis of how language and life work together and how a creative play with language can help us to reengage sustainably with the joyous as well as the terrible forces of life.

The first critical survey of its kind devoted solely to literary evaluation Companion to Literary Evaluation bridges the gap between the non-academic literary world, where evaluation is deeply ingrained, and the world of academia, where evaluation is rarely considered. Encouraging readers to formulate and articulate arguments that balance instinctive judgment and reasoned assessment, this unique volume addresses key issues regarding literary values from the perspective of analytical aesthetics and the philosophy of literature. Bringing together a diverse panel of contributors, the Companion explores competing theories of literary evaluation, the reasons for evaluating theater and lyric poetry in performance, the question of value in literary theory, debates over Modernism's negative impact on literature, the possibility of evaluating aesthetic beauty through scientific and formalist methods, the nature and status of literary evaluation as a branch of criticism, aesthetics in applied and community theater, evaluation outside academia, the perils of extreme relativism and subjectivism in literary evaluation, evaluation in schools and much more. Contributors question and reassess the reputations of authors across the canon, from Shakespeare and James Shirley to T S Eliot, Kathleen Raine, Virginia Woolf, Joyce and Beckett amongst others. The Companion: Illustrates how seemingly divergent perspectives on the artistic qualities and value of literature can sometimes overlap Covers the standard range of literary genres, while including others such as unfinished novels, freelance journalism, and lyric poetry in performance Offers methodologies that demonstrate why literature can be treated as something different from other forms of language and therefore assessed as art Explores the importance of maintaining clarity and specificity in the evaluation of literary works Companion to Literary Evaluation is a must-read for undergraduates, research students, lecturers, and academics in search of fresh perspectives on standard literary critical issues.

The influence of Antonin Artaud on the contemporary theatre has only become evident since the early Sixties, although writers and directors have been directly or indirectly influenced by his thinking and innovations for many years. Today his pre-eminence as a founder of modern theatrical style is rivalled only by Brecht, with whom he has much in common.The man and his work, as Martin Esslin persuasively argues in this perceptive study, are inseparable and must be considered together. Genius or madman, everything about Artaud is fascinating - his extraordinary life, his passions, his wide-ranging interests, the brilliance and originality that he brought to his plays, his productions and his other writings. Artaud died in 1948 at the age of fifty-two, but accomplished a revolution in his short life that is still bearing fruit today.This compact, carefully researched study is an invaluable guide, combining readability with a sympathetic and authoritative study of its subject.

Discusses Artaud's influence over theatre and investigates why his theories and the questions he asked still reverberate in contemporary culture.

This resource collects for the first time some of the best criticism on Artaud's life and work from writers such as Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva, Maurice Blanchot, Herbert Blau, Leo Bersani and Susan Sontag. Antonin Artaud was one of the most brilliant artists of the twentieth century. His writing influenced entire generations, from the French post-structuralists to the American beatniks. He was a key figure in the European cinema of the 1920s and '30s, and his drawings and sketches have been displayed in some of the major art galleries of the Western world. Possibly best known for his concept of a 'theatre of cruelty', his legacy has been to re-define the possibilities of live performance. Containing some of the most intellectually adventurous and emotionally passionate writings on Artaud, this book is essential reading for Artaud scholars working in arts disciplines including theatre, film, philosophy, literature and fine art.

This resource collects for the first time some of the best criticism on Artaud's life and work from writers such as Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva, Maurice Blanchot, Herbert Blau, Leo Bersani and Susan Sontag. Antonin Artaud was one of the most brilliant artists of the twentieth century. His writing influenced entire generations, from the French post-structuralists to the American beatniks. He was a key figure in the European cinema of the 1920s and '30s, and his drawings and sketches have been displayed in some of the major art galleries of the Western world. Possibly best known for his concept of a 'theatre of cruelty', his legacy has been to re-define the possibilities of live performance. Containing some of the most intellectually adventurous and emotionally passionate writings on Artaud, this book is essential reading for Artaud scholars working in arts disciplines including theatre, film, philosophy, literature and fine art.

Collection of papers that resulted from a symposium held at Victoria University in 2002 to promote research undertaken by postgraduate students which in one way or another could be seen as both scholarly and courageous for the risks taken in terms of subject focus and the sometimes audacious methodology.