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210th out of 455 books
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527 voters
Artaud Anthology
“I am the man,” wrote Artaud, “who has best charted his inmost self.” Antonin Artaud was a great poet who, like Poe, Holderlin, and Nerval, wanted to live in the infinite and asked that the human spirit burn in absolute freedom.
To society, he was a madman. Artaud, however, was not insane but in luciferian pursuit of what society keeps hidden. The man who wrote Van Gogh the...more
To society, he was a madman. Artaud, however, was not insane but in luciferian pursuit of what society keeps hidden. The man who wrote Van Gogh the...more
Paperback, 253 pages
Published
January 1st 2001
by City Lights Publishers
(first published 1956)
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My first book of Antonin Artaud (otherwise known as Little Anthony.)
I remember driving 40 miles to get obtain this book - it was a hellish ride in snow and mud. My heart was palpating and racing because I already read on the internet much of this book. I was excited, but also nervous because of how intimidating his text was. When I finally received the book, I studied it in my car, reading more than half in a single sitting, I then drove back home, locked myself in my room and read this book re...more
I remember driving 40 miles to get obtain this book - it was a hellish ride in snow and mud. My heart was palpating and racing because I already read on the internet much of this book. I was excited, but also nervous because of how intimidating his text was. When I finally received the book, I studied it in my car, reading more than half in a single sitting, I then drove back home, locked myself in my room and read this book re...more
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Worth it for the Tarahumara Indian section alone, this edition of shorter works also includes classics like his justification for the legalization of Opium and the end to stigmatization of addicts, plus lots of brilliant and typically unusual pieces. Also, and this is really important, has selections from "Theater and its Double", which introduces the idea of the "Theater of Cruelty", which is an interesting subject in and of itself.
Truth be told I haven't read it from cover to cover but it's n...more
Truth be told I haven't read it from cover to cover but it's n...more
I think this is a sturdy selection, esp. as so many of the other Artaud collections I like seem to be out of print. Maddening, fascinating, often raving. Why is it that Artaud's work clings and haunts you?
artaud is artaud. there are some delightful bits in this anthology. i kind of skim through it now and again when i'm in the mood for his transcendental madness.
Come on, you hungry readers: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-83...
"There is in every madman a misunderstood genius whose idea, shining in his head, frightened people, and for whom delirium was the only solution to the strangulation that life had prepared for him."
Antonin Artaud
Between the 15 and 19 I read the bulk of the western philosophers. Near the end of this period I was given this book by a friend. Artuad was Nuts and I identified with him!
So, I swore off all western philosophy and heavy reading for the time being. I was too young! Now, at almost 30 I...more
Antonin Artaud
Between the 15 and 19 I read the bulk of the western philosophers. Near the end of this period I was given this book by a friend. Artuad was Nuts and I identified with him!
So, I swore off all western philosophy and heavy reading for the time being. I was too young! Now, at almost 30 I...more
"I suffer from a fearful mental disease"
As usual, I have an earlier edition of this w/ a different cover - before ISBNs. Artaud, you difficult human being you. Thank goodness, you existed. I wish you'd been happy, I wish I were happy, but I DON'T WISH YOU'D BEEN LIKE MOST OF THE MORONS IN THE WORLD. No degree of happiness is worth that fate. You gave a hard look at life & you let it fuck you up. You burned, you lived, you died, & you left a legacy well worth studying.
Jul 20, 2011
cras culture
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
non-fiction-and-memoir,
fiction,
aphorisms,
madness,
poetry,
revolution,
totes-favorites,
surreal
Artaud's repertoire is a massive shock against the electro-shock, a powerful yearning to be utterly understood, but on the author's own terms. It is a deep howl against everything he loathed. It is also, in a 20th-21st century literary world full of folks expressing sympathy and affinity with the insane, a painful yet wonderful insider's perspective into a mind tortured by too much lucidity.
Artaud's aggressive and vivid language is actually less interesting to me than his ideas, which center around developing a new and healthier spirituality. He has a totally different conception of the body, sexuality, and how religion should and does function than anyone who came before him. Also a great and more artistic predecessor to Deleuze and Guatarri.
Fabulous book, especially the critical writing. Not the best place to go for poetry, but not bad. Much of this book was translated by David Rattray, who nails Artaud's intensity of voice. Also a lot of Jack Hirschman's translations, which are a bit too beat for my tastes. In any case, it is a wild read! Artaud really goes all out.
This is the first classic anthology put together by Poet Jack Hirschman on Artaud's writings and criticisms. Truly one of the greats of the theater - and well, the arts. Artaud was a haunted man and his writings have that desperate aspect to his mental health and his unique way of looking at the world. Truly great.
Bought this one at the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, which is actually a log cabin in the woods off of CA-1. I enjoy reading Artaud, king of surrealism, and every once in a while I pick this one up and read a few pages. Always illuminating.
Aug 07, 2008
Jay griffith
added it
writings on: suicide comtemplation, the sickness of the social institution, the secrets hidden from it, the deepest recesses of the mind, the madness that comes of such "sanity," artaud is the epitome of the madman society persecutes.
Brilliant!! A book to read over and over again. Deeply moving. A fascinating view of the mind in a world of persecution and fear. Note the lovely and immobilizing 'Van Gough,Suicided By Society'.
America's introduction, I believe, and a strong one that that. Artaud destroys literature, says Sontag, and she's right, all great artists do, and if he didn't there would be no reason to carry on.
An amazing set of essay/prose pieces. And I mean that literally. The book is scattered with thoughts ides along with some concrete solid writing. Mostly bizarre and highly entertaing.
Poetic, hallucinatory discussions of art, madness, identity.
vicious little book.
Jun 18, 2013
Andrew Cole
marked it as to-read
Jun 15, 2013
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Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director.
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