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92nd out of 116 books
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The Gift: Art, Imagination, and the Power of the Creative Spirit
by
Lewis Hyde (Goodreads Author)
Discusses the argument that a work of art is essentially a gift and not a commodity.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
368 pages
Published
July 1st 2009
by Vintage
(first published 1979)
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I tried to like this book, since it had come so highly recommended, and it was in a 25th anniversary edition. If it has been in print all those years, there must be something to it, right? Nope. First of all, it's badly structured. The first half is an extended discussion of the concept of gifts (vs paying for things) in ancient vs modern societies. Once you get the basic point, that (especially older) societies exchanged goods and services as gifts, not for money, and that Hyde thinks that...more
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Now in its 25th anniversary edition, this book is as current and necessary as it was in 1979. A creative mix of ethnography, folklore, economics (the gift economy, the market economy, the vegetable money economy?!), and literary criticism (Whitman and Pound) all seen through the prism of art as a gift and the artist as a gifted person. Keen observations are sprinkled throughout on how an artist needs to protect from market forces that space where the artwork is conceived (essentially a gift), an...more
Hyde originally wrote this book with poets in mind, but it is recommended for anyone working in any of the arts, or who wants to devote themselves to a career or calling that does not do well in a market economy. In the first half of the book he draws on cultural anthropology and folktales to lay out his theory of a gift economy, and the characteristics and requirements of a gift. In the second half, he uses that theory to examine the works and lives of Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound. Neither secti...more
I chose this edition because the new one looks like a Valentine's day card. I expected it to be perfumed inside.
The Gift is a large and pretty messy book, to its credit, but the main thrusts are: 1) To use detailed analyses of folk-tales, anthropology, and economic theory to come up with a model for human interaction that parallels commodity exchange but is based around gift-giving, and 2) To give detailed readings of Whitman and Pound, two poets whose careers and lives Hyde sees st...more
The Gift is a large and pretty messy book, to its credit, but the main thrusts are: 1) To use detailed analyses of folk-tales, anthropology, and economic theory to come up with a model for human interaction that parallels commodity exchange but is based around gift-giving, and 2) To give detailed readings of Whitman and Pound, two poets whose careers and lives Hyde sees st...more
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Hyde tries to end his 25th anniversary Afterword on an optimistic note: things are really bad now, but the world is always changing. And in some respects, I can agree with him. But, as he points out earlier in the book, going back to a small community where gifts are valued for their intrinsic worth and not as commodities would be impossible in a global economy. And unless we self-desturct, leaving only a few isolated pckets of survivors, we're not going back.
His broad discussion...more
His broad discussion...more
Lewis Hyde began the intellectual journey contained in this book by trying to work out what his place was in the world - was his art meaningful? Did his work as a poet contribute something to the human experience? How did he reconcile his work with the demands of a world that was increasingly organized around the principles of the market economy, and the commodities exchanged within it? From there he takes off on a sprawling journey through multiple disciplines, pieces of history, and types o...more
I picked this up at a bookstore where I was killing some time before an appointment. I read the preface and the introduction and wept through them both. I left for my appointment, thinking I'd have to find a used copy of this book sometime and read it. A couple of hours later, I had to go back and buy it because I was still thinking about it. So it lit a fire under me, for sure. Whether or not it fulfilled the promise of that fire is still up for debate. The preface and the intro are really easy...more
An excellent book for artists, writers, scientists, musicians... and wiki contributors - anyone who has a "gift" and senses the obligation to "keep the gift in motion."
Hyde lays out his thoughts on "gift economies," based on folklore and cultural studies. He contrasts gift exchange with less emotionally involving market transactions. And he explores the issues that artists face when they are obliged to market their own work - the risk of corrupting their deep ...more
Hyde lays out his thoughts on "gift economies," based on folklore and cultural studies. He contrasts gift exchange with less emotionally involving market transactions. And he explores the issues that artists face when they are obliged to market their own work - the risk of corrupting their deep ...more
There are some great ideas in this book, but you have to dig through Hyde's rather long-winded and schizophrenic writing style to unearth them. Essentially, he examines the balance between treating creative output as a commodity and as a gift, examining psychology, gift-exchange cultures, and folk tales--as well as two artists' lives and attitudes--along the way.
He does a nice job of examining the transformational nature of gift culture, and shows its impact. He also discusses both t...more
He does a nice job of examining the transformational nature of gift culture, and shows its impact. He also discusses both t...more
The idea of this book is that art is a gift, so it is difficult for artists to survive in our Captialistic market-driven economy. I agree with this thesis. Second half focuses on close readings on Whitman and Pound as well as some biography on them. The first half was more anthropological. Author has some good points, but I don't think it was successfully argued with the fairy tales/myths and gift-exchange anthropological studies. I think the close readings were not convincing and the anthro...more
I read the new edition which has a red heart on the cover which led a friend to say "it looks like an Oprah's pick." It's not, and I doubt she hawks many books that feature as many full frontal assaults on market values. There's a lot of fascinating intellectual and cultural history in the tome, and overall I quite liked it. But as Preston Sturges might say, it does get a bit deep dish at times. And I get kind of creeped out at the feeling that artists are somehow a bit more specia...more
While Hyde has given his readers the gift of a lens through which to view artistic endeavors, this could have been done in about 50 pages - not 385. This book reminded me of a typical college freshman essay: I want to write about everything! And therefore, nothing is really achieved. While the gift metaphor is interesting, it's too vague to help in any but the most theoretical way. This could have been a tight essay, a literary work (like a novel or short story) or a scholarly work on the ant...more
Really interesting meditation on the conflicts between art and commerce...viewed through the perspective of all art as a "gift" that is not diminished through sharing. I'm just finishing and alreading feeling like I've got to read it again to get the full gist.
I think this book is potentially life changing. For anyone interested in the essence of what art and creativity are, beyond the definitions imposed on those terms by materialism, this book is absolutely essential reading.
The first chapters about the history and anthropology of gift-giving are fascinating. In the second half of the book there are a couple of chapters about specific poets, which, unless you're a student of poetry, slow the pace down. But the threads that are brought tog...more
The first chapters about the history and anthropology of gift-giving are fascinating. In the second half of the book there are a couple of chapters about specific poets, which, unless you're a student of poetry, slow the pace down. But the threads that are brought tog...more
Persevere through this book and I believe you will be rewarded with some interesting observations about human nature and how we perceive one another - in particular, you will find new perspectives on who is considered an "insider" or "outsider" to your group and how you treat them in kind.
You will also be introduced universally shared human traits - in this case, gift-giving. You will learn why there is much more to the practice of gift-giving than you ever thoug...more
You will also be introduced universally shared human traits - in this case, gift-giving. You will learn why there is much more to the practice of gift-giving than you ever thoug...more
As a critique of capitalism (in defense of the artist), this is a moving, often brilliant book. The blurbs on the front and back attest that Hyde's expansive intelligence is just the kind writers and artists hope to have on their side. The writing is often exhilarating, but Hyde seems (and admits to this in the introduction) determined to cast his criticism in an optimistic light, which, in various ways, weakens his argument. I'm not sure if this is because I'm so accustomed to serious, rigorou...more
Not to be confused with Danielle Steel's passionate love fumble. In the first section, Hyde's analysis of gift exchange throughout history and anthropology is replete with wonderful examples and comparison of reciprocal and gift economies and crucially examines the limitations and potentialities of them within our world. Despite a re-jig there are moments when one realises that this was written sometime ago, and that many new perspectives are floating concurrently. In the second section, the aut...more
So....I thought this was weak in Economics. Strong in examples. I liked the Ethiopian tribe, who when told by their government they had to institute a bride price said, no, we don't sell our women like objects.
Both the parts on Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound made me cry. For completely different reasons.
Whitman, when told my Emerson that he had to change Leaves of Grass, said no. And the general opinion objected to the same things Emerson had. It made me sad that Whitman for...more
Both the parts on Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound made me cry. For completely different reasons.
Whitman, when told my Emerson that he had to change Leaves of Grass, said no. And the general opinion objected to the same things Emerson had. It made me sad that Whitman for...more
In order to elaborate on the idea of "gift" and contrast it with its opposite: "commodity" the author relies heavily on fables, myths, parables and the lives of several poets. The latter being the only type of artist through which the concept is explored in great detail. Overall I think the premise was fascinating and the argument persuasive but the chapters were a bit undiscplined. The middle third of the book covering Walt Whitman gets mired into excessive details about the...more
The book was, appropriately, a gift from a friend. Thought-provoking and relevant to the need for a new economic paradigm that the latest economic crisis demands. I liked the wide-ranging references to different cultures, uncovering customs submerged by modernism, visiting both remote island tribes and old folklore closer to home. The book offers a well-reasoned, erudite and entertaining analysis in order to champion the virtues of generosity and counter the selfishness of 21st century society. ...more
It's philosophy and I don't do philosophy, but I like it so far!
Leah
added it
In depth but sometimes confusing look at creativity as a gift and how it influences, and is influenced by, modernity--in particularly economy and politics. Hyde begins with a look at gift systems of various peoples, his purpose for doing so initially being to prove that capitalizing off of art destroys artwork and creativity. However, he ends up finding that these two spheres overlap and there is a necessity to this overlap that prevents creativity, and thereby art, from disappearing altogether.
A very interesting read. By turns turgid, dull, meandering . . . and somehow in a vague way, annoying-ly too liberal, but in a hard to define way (it was written from an academic stance in the late 70's) but also I don't think I have read another book this past year that I dog-eared, and highlighted as much.
An unusual synthesis of Jungian psychology, Marxist history, and literary criticism. Hyde weaves a compelling description of how creativity and art must be separate from money. He...more
An unusual synthesis of Jungian psychology, Marxist history, and literary criticism. Hyde weaves a compelling description of how creativity and art must be separate from money. He...more
the first half of this book is a social history of the concept of "the gift" (inspired in part by the original work by Mauss). highly recommend reading through for a brilliant analysis of exchange, giving and the "spiritual" connection that gift cycles create.
the second half is comprised of, first, an account of Walt Whitman's life, followed by an account of Ezra Pound. Though I adore Whitman, this part of the book was gushy and mostly sucked. Parts of it were int...more
the second half is comprised of, first, an account of Walt Whitman's life, followed by an account of Ezra Pound. Though I adore Whitman, this part of the book was gushy and mostly sucked. Parts of it were int...more
This book was a "gift..." from a friend, from mother to daughter, from one artist to another.
So far, dense but en-lightening... perhaps a little on the masculine side in a not-quite-academic sense. The concept of the gift has intrigued me for a few years now, but never did I ever imagine that there would be so comprehensive an analysis of it as this. Certainly there must be others. (You probably should stop reading this "review" here.)
I'm sort of ...more
So far, dense but en-lightening... perhaps a little on the masculine side in a not-quite-academic sense. The concept of the gift has intrigued me for a few years now, but never did I ever imagine that there would be so comprehensive an analysis of it as this. Certainly there must be others. (You probably should stop reading this "review" here.)
I'm sort of ...more
You who keep such close track of my "currently reading" list may have noticed (I know I have) that when I put something on it, I promptly stop reading it. It's where books in my life go to stagnate. This holiday season, with my glut of unclaimed time, I aim to change this trend. To that end, I have just finished The Gift, which I see I started reading two years ago. This is an AMAZING book. I sort of want to start reading it all over again from the beginning, since what I read two year...more
I just read the 25th anniversary edition of this book, complete with the Margaret Atwood blurb on the cover calling it a masterpiece. So it’s possible that my expectations were a little too high.
The book is in two parts. The first part seemed very familiar, having read Richard Titmus (The Gift Relationship) many years ago and having thought a lot about markets versus other forms of social organization. What Hyde adds is the perspective of folktales and other material that economist...more
The book is in two parts. The first part seemed very familiar, having read Richard Titmus (The Gift Relationship) many years ago and having thought a lot about markets versus other forms of social organization. What Hyde adds is the perspective of folktales and other material that economist...more
The cover of this book has a quote by David Foster Wallace that says"No one who is invested in any kind of art can read The Gift and remain unchanged"; big priase, and the first three pages are filled with similar, from the likes of Bill Viola and Zadie Smith. So, I went in with high hopes. And, in about 10 percent of the book, the hopes were lived up to. My copy has dogears and underlines on many lovely passages. However, the other 90% actually felt kind of superfluous, and I kept ski...more
I'm afraid to say I had to give up on this "classic" that is much beloved by many artists, writers, and actors I've encountered over the years. Hyde has something important to say, I think, about the place of artists in a modern capitalist economy, but the expression of that idea is rather dull and repetitive. The first section, about gift economies, was interesting in an anthropological way, but I felt he was making the same point over and over again and was taken with the exoticism o...more
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“Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they often starve themselves, socially, erotically, and, at last but not least, nutritionally, in order to let the grosser weeds die out, and make way for the growth of their inner garden. ”
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