The Romantic Manifesto
by Ayn Rand
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Read in October, 1971
Full disclosure -- I read a lot of Ayn Rand when I was about sixteen or seventeen. It's appealing at around that age. Now I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! I'm giving it three stars (rather than one) for how I (apparently) felt about it back then.
The same applies to Thomas Wolfe, but I still retain a fondness for him even if I can't manage to get through any of his books anymore. Oh, and Hermann Hesse. I read a lot of Hesse, but the only one I was even remotely tempted to reread ...more
The same applies to Thomas Wolfe, but I still retain a fondness for him even if I can't manage to get through any of his books anymore. Oh, and Hermann Hesse. I read a lot of Hesse, but the only one I was even remotely tempted to reread ...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
objectivists and musicians
It's a crystal-clear window into Rand's philosophies of art, cognition and a person's sense of life. She does not mess around here. Transparency=100%.
If you are neither an objectivist nor a musician you should still read it. Though, beware, she does make fun of retarded children in her essays, and I'll paraphrase: art is not some randomly devised crap-shot of color and scraps. "Real" art does not rely on glue. Pieces of paper glued to another is not art. Nor is a sheet with...more
If you are neither an objectivist nor a musician you should still read it. Though, beware, she does make fun of retarded children in her essays, and I'll paraphrase: art is not some randomly devised crap-shot of color and scraps. "Real" art does not rely on glue. Pieces of paper glued to another is not art. Nor is a sheet with...more
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Read in August, 2007
A great objective piece about art, all art, literature, music, everything. I bought it just for the short story at the end, and wound up reading the whole thing.
Because she was an atheist, and a pure rationalist believing in nothing mystical, she doesn't have the luxury of saying things like "writing should make you feel (xyz)".
Very interesting stuff, and I like it. Not for the feint of heart regarding philosophical thought... also not for anyone who's going to get pissy...more
Because she was an atheist, and a pure rationalist believing in nothing mystical, she doesn't have the luxury of saying things like "writing should make you feel (xyz)".
Very interesting stuff, and I like it. Not for the feint of heart regarding philosophical thought... also not for anyone who's going to get pissy...more
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Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
artists, philosophers, thinkers
I read this in a class I took on the Philosophy of Art long ago. Loved it. It shaped my view ever since. I read Rilke's "Letter to a Young Poet" around the same time and took a writing class taught by my then-hero author, Stuart Dybek. I am forever inspired to view authors and all artists with awe and respect.
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Read in March, 1995
I'm not a fan of Ayn Rand's brand of capitalism... but this book isn't about that. Its about the romantic movement in Art, what it is really about. She convinced me that its pretty cool. Also was the reason why I read Les Mis, which she argues is the greatest romantic novel ever written.
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