'The Poetics of Space' - Beyond Remarkable

The Poetics of Space is an extended thought exercise by French philosopher Gaston Bachelard.

I first encountered this book when I was in college and enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris, where I alternatively studied theater criticism and avoided teargas from the student riots since called l’Epoque des Barricades. However, Bachelard’s masterpiece came by way of my American roommate, and I have no idea how he came across it.

This is how my hardcover copy of Gilson’s translation looks, although the jacket on mine has long since worn to shreds. Thankfully, Bachelard remains a popular enigma, and newer editions are available.

I read it in Etienne Gilson’s English translation, my French being stuck at grade-school level and the author’s terms being sufficiently esoteric as to cause contentious debates, even when understood literally in the original.

Barchelard describes the thoughts—mostly, the feelings—that arise when humans find themselves in various kinds of enclosures such as houses, bedrooms, closets, huts, tents, and caves. He uses a lot of words to express the almost inexpressible.

I’ll give you just two examples of terms he coined.

intimate immensity…

… is the expansive, joyous feeling that wells up when you are in a space so small, evoking the sense of being closed in, that you are forced to commune with your inner self. Practitioners of mindfulness know this. Claustrophobics might not.

la chute en air — falling into the sky…

… seems illogical. Here’s the uprush of emotion and the thrill of shooting—and accelerating—upward when surrounded by boundless space. Perhaps accompanied by wet dreams? Wish fulfillment for horny hermits? It’s metaphysical, children. Try not to think of pink elephants or blue movies.

I was actually discouraged when I read that booksellers seem to think the audience for The Poetics of Space is mainly architects. Yes, when you walk into Notre Dame, the sense of awe relates.

But Bachelard is not offering practical advice. He’s not telling you how to design a house or a cathedral. He’s hinting at the book or the poetry or the painting or the music—or the shout!—you might be inspired to create when you are tucked cozily in your favorite space.

If you are dreamers, my dears, Bachelard’s quirky little book deserves your fanciful attention.

Preacher Evan Wycliff. Can a curious agnostic serve as a minister of the gospel?