Texts and Pretexts: An Anthology With Commentaries

by Aldous Huxley

One of the most original and lively writers of the twentieth century, Aldous Huxley achieved worldwide fame with his novels, essays and short stories.In his introduction to Texts and Pretexts , he wrote, 'It would have been better, I repeat, to write it all oneself - a new Divine Comedy; and, if I had the abilities of Dante, I should certainly undertake the task. But... I must content myself with picking up these broken and half-forgotten fragments from the past and fitting them, one here, another there, into their appropriate places in the jumbled mosaic of contemporary experience.'Binding together this personal selection of poetry (and a sprinkling of prose) are Huxley's own illuminating commentaries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry

322 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley family, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with a degree in English literature. Early in his career, he published short stories and poetry and edited the literary magazine Oxford Poetry, before going on to publish travel writing, satire, and screenplays. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and was elected Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature in 1962.
Huxley was a pacifist. He grew interested in philosophical mysticism, as well as universalism, addressing these subjects in his works such as The Perennial Philosophy (1945), which illustrates commonalities between Western and Eastern mysticism, and The Doors of Perception (1954), which interprets his own psychedelic experience with mescaline. In his most famous novel Brave New World (1932) and his final novel Island (1962), he presented his visions of dystopia and utopia, respectively.

Reviews

[Mark Taverner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. It covers so much and so succinctly, but with such depth. The categorization is excellent. Very easy to dip in and out of, or read through. He has some favorites, but many poets feature, and some I did not know. I particularly enjoyed the Latin and French references. A very philosophical and enlightening piece that is very easy to engage with.

[Hall's Bookshop · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally avoid anthologies, but Huxley's commentary makes this one worth-while.

JM 20/03/20

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Huxley but I find his writing very clinical. Which works well in his writing but not when reviewing poetry. A great collection of poems to which Huxley I feel gives many unfair remarks.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

amazing opinions from an amazing mind. (even without my being able to read the greek and latin stuff)