Alfred Jarry
Jill Fell
Reaktion Books, 2010
842 J37f
"Alfred Jarry’s (1873–1907) creation of the monster-tyrant Ubu in his play Ubu Roi was a watershed in theater history and brought him instant notoriety following its Paris premiere in 1896. In this concise, critical biography, Jill Fell explores this and the many achievements that this multi-talented and influential writer and playwright crammed into his short life. Drawing on numerous anecdotes and the early publications of the Collège de ’Pataphysique, Fell traces Jarry’s growth and influence, as he rapidly established his literary reputation as a prose writer, journalist, art critic, and playwright. Along the way, Fell explores his interaction with a wide cast of avant-garde characters, including Gauguin, Rachilde, Wilde, Beardsley, and Apollinaire. The quarrels that punctuated Jarry’s life—and the extravagance and the drinking that drained his meager wealth—form the background to this portrait of an obsessive writer, committed to his craft and undeterred by his worsening domestic circumstances. In this entertaining biography, Jarry’s spirit and his inventions clearly emerge as an inspiration to the great figures of experimental twentieth-century theatre, art, and literature. Alfred Jarry will inform and delight readers who wish to learn more about this fascinating, unconventional figure." -publisher
On the Heights of Despair
E.M. Cioran
Chicago, 1992
199.498 C576o
"Born of a terrible insomnia—"a dizzying lucidity which would turn even
paradise into hell"—this book presents the youthful Cioran, a self-
described "Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his
mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights."
On the Heights of Despair shows Cioran's first grappling with
themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay,
absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence.
It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician
of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the "lyrical
virtues" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation.
"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion."—Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix
"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short
meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that
gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going
for the rest of his life."—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book
Review
Emil M. Cioran (1911-1995) is the author of numerous works, including
The Fall into Time, A Short History of Decay, and Tears and
Saints.." -publisher
paradise into hell"—this book presents the youthful Cioran, a self-
described "Nietzsche still complete with his Zarathustra, his poses, his
mystical clown's tricks, a whole circus of the heights."
On the Heights of Despair shows Cioran's first grappling with
themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay,
absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence.
It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician
of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the "lyrical
virtues" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation.
"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion."—Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix
"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short
meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that
gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going
for the rest of his life."—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book
Review
Emil M. Cioran (1911-1995) is the author of numerous works, including
The Fall into Time, A Short History of Decay, and Tears and
Saints.." -publisher
On Love and Death
Peter Suskind
Overlook, 2006
834 S964o
"In ON LOVE AND DEATH, Patrick Suskind reveals the hidden source of his mesmerizing fiction: an obsession with the darkly erotic link between love and death. In this witty and thought-provoking meditation on the two elemental forces of human existence, he brilliantly draws on scenes as contemporary as a young couple having oral sex in a traffic jam, as literary as Thomas Mann's discovery of forbidden love at an advanced age, and as mythical as the stories of death conquered through love in the narratives of Orpheus and Jesus." -publisher