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One of Europe's greatest living philosophers, Giorgio Agamben, analyzes the life and work of one of Europe's greatest poets, Friedrich Hölderlin. What does it mean to inhabit a place or a self? What is a habit? And, for human beings, doesn't living mean--first and foremost--inhabiting? Pairing a detailed chronology of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin's years of purported madness with a new examination of texts often considered unreadable, Giorgio Agamben's new book aims to describe and comprehend a life that the poet himself called habitual and inhabited. Hölderlin's life was split neatly in two: his first 36 years, from 1770 to 1806; and the 36 years from 1807 to 1843, which he spent as a madman holed up in the home of Ernst Zimmer, a carpenter. The poet lived the first half of his existence out and about in the broader world, relatively engaged with current events, only to then spend the second half entirely cut off from the outside world. Despite occasional visitors, it was as if a wall separated him from all external events and relationships. For reasons that may well eventually become clear, Hölderlin chose to expunge all character--historical, social, or otherwise--from the actions and gestures of his daily life. According to his earliest biographer, he often stubbornly repeated, "nothing happens to me." Such a life can only be the subject of a chronology--not a biography, much less a clinical or psychological analysis. Nevertheless, this book suggests that this is precisely how Hölderlin offers humanity an entirely other notion of what it means to live. Although we have yet to grasp the political significance of his unprecedented way of life, it now clearly speaks directly to our own.

The first complete publication of Robert Walser's poems translated into English. Admired by the likes of Kafka, Musil, and Walter Benjamin and acclaimed "unforgettable, heart-rending" by J. M. Coetzee, Swiss writer Robert Walser (1878-1956) remains one of the most influential authors of modern literature. Walser left school at fourteen and led a wandering and precarious existence while producing poems, stories, essays, and novels. In 1933, he abandoned writing and entered a sanatorium, where he remained for the rest of his life. "I am not here to write," Walser said, "but to be mad." This first collection of Walser's poems in English translation allows English-speaking readers to experience the author as he saw himself at the beginning and the end of his literary career--as a poet. The book also includes notes on dates of composition, draft versions of the printed poems, and brief biographical information on characters and locations that appear in the poems and may not be known to readers. Few writers have ever experienced such a steady rise in their reputation and public profile as Walser has seen in recent years, and this collection of his poems will help readers discover a unique writer whose off-kilter sensibility and innovations in form are perfectly suited to our fragmented, distracted, bewildering era.

For more than three decades, the author has explored in his work the nature of subjectivity, the possibilities of revolution, the Enlightenment's legacy in Africa, and the nature of time itself. In this book, he explains the key concerns of his art, including the virtues of bastardy, the ethics of provisionality, and the activity of the viewer.

When apartheid ended in 1994, a radiant national optimism suggested a bright future for the new, unified South Africa. Using the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a starting point, this book includes essays that explore texts from every corner of South Africa in an attempt to remap the borders of her country's communities.

Poems from a new Slovak voice reminiscent of Rilke and Sharon Olds. An evocative collection by Slovak poet Eva Luka, The Minotaur's Daughter seamlessly melds the human and natural worlds, weaving motifs of mythology, nature, and personal freedom into a tapestry of vivid imagery and profound emotion. The poems traverse settings from Japan to mythic landscapes, exploring the complexities of sexuality, desire, and transition. Central to Luka's work is the theme of resistance--against societal pressures and psychic harm. Her poetic voice defies artistic conformity, merging human and animal identities to challenge gender norms and explore mutable identities. Through this innovative fusion, her poems capture both the terror and beauty of existence, drawing parallels to Rilke's metaphysical explorations while grounding her work in the pantheistic and protoplasmic. Journeying through darkness and light, The Minotaur's Daughter reveals an unwavering commitment to artistic and personal truth, establishing Luka as a formidable voice of resistance in contemporary European poetry.

This volume dives deep into how art reflects the ever-evolving relationship between humanity and nature, exploring industrialization's impact on cultural practices and memory. In The Concept of Tradition and Other Essays, K. G. Subramanyan explores questions about art and tradition, such as whether tradition is more than a mere linear progression of artifacts and ideas. He also explores how art reflects on the evolving relationship between nature and humanity and the impact industrialization has had on our aesthetic sensibilities. He interrogates the structures that transmit cultural knowledge across generations while exploring whether tradition can serve as a viable framework for human endeavor in modern society. Subramanyan brings his trademark candor, lucidity, and wisdom to these reflections and responses.

These insightful essays explore how the intersection of artistic and scientific pursuits shapes creative processes. In this collection of essays by one of India's most celebrated artists, K. G. Subramanyan explores many questions that have shaped his art and his process. Among the ideas that shape this collection are such questions as how does the artist's eye manipulate her view of the world?; was a visual defect responsible for the birth of impressionism?; what is the grammar of the art language?; how can rasa theory help explain the aesthetic experience of visual art?; and what drives artistic and scientific pursuits, and how do aesthetic experiences shape the creative process in both domains? In A Matter of Perspective and Other Essays, Subramanyan answers these questions with his trademark candor, lucidity, and wisdom, shedding new light on his work and creative philosophy.

This volume of essays examines and celebrates how cross-cultural encounters have shaped modern art, a crucial reminder in today's political landscape. In The Local and the Global and Other Essays, K. G. Subramanyan investigates the fate of multiculturalism in a globalized world. He interrogates questions about when art stopped being subservient to the dictates of the calendar and explores how artistic traditions maintain their identity in a global context. Examining how cross-cultural encounters have shaped and absorbed artistic practices across borders, he also discusses the societal and individual role of art and how it has evolved from prehistoric times to modernity. Subramanyan brings his trademark candor, lucidity, and wisdom to these reflections and responses.