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The Mind and Art of Henry Miller
Publisher: Capella Date of Publication: 1968 Binding: hard cover Edition: Condition: Good/Good Description: 0224613588 Ex- Library
- GenresLiterary Criticism
232 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1967
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2014
William Gordon's 'The Mind and Art of Henry Miller' was one of the first major studies of Miller’s work. It was published in 1968 - when Miller's major novels had finally become available to the reading public in the US and the UK . This was significant, Miller's contentious, provocative 'auto-novels' were now readily available to a new generation, not unsympathetic to the ethos inherent in Miller's work. This happened, somewhat momentously in a Supreme Court decision in 1965, making Miller's oeuvre available throughout the United States, and superseding civil cases, that would not allow free citizens to be able to choose what they read, an important tenant of democratic society.
One of the few exceptions to this is Kingsley Widmer’s earlier study, of which Gordon is somewhat dismissive of, on the basis that it does not encompass the full picture of Miller as an artist. However, like Lewis, Gordon puts forth the view that in order to understand the value and uniqueness of Miller’s achievement as a writer and artist, his oeuvre needs to be looked at in its entirety. This encourages the inclusion of Miller’s non-fiction work - such as the essays compiled in 'The Cosmological Eye' and 'Wisdom of the Heart' - as well as Miller’s 'The World of Sex'. The study - though somewhat dated (1968) - still has value as a secondary source for someone familiar with Miller’s work, though it remains preoccupied with the idea of Miller’s relationship to his own unconscious. In this respect, it makes reference to psychoanalytic theory, including the influence of Otto Rank and Carl Jung, on Miller’s thinking. An interesting distinction can be made here with the later work by Leon Lewis – ‘Henry Miller: The Major Writings’ (1986). Gordon sees 'Tropic of Cancer' as distinct, and 'Tropic of Capricorn' and The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy as forming the ‘auto-novels’ that constitute Miller’s original artistic plan. Certain specific ideas are worthy of mention in Gordon’s work. These include his mention of the Dionysian/Apollonian (Nietzsche 'The Birth of Tragedy'), the somewhat dated psychoanalytic approach (Jungian/Rank) and most importantly, the assertion that for Miller, art is a means to live life more fully, thus having a primarily therapeutic function, the living of life being of ultimately more importance, than the art itself.
One of the few exceptions to this is Kingsley Widmer’s earlier study, of which Gordon is somewhat dismissive of, on the basis that it does not encompass the full picture of Miller as an artist. However, like Lewis, Gordon puts forth the view that in order to understand the value and uniqueness of Miller’s achievement as a writer and artist, his oeuvre needs to be looked at in its entirety. This encourages the inclusion of Miller’s non-fiction work - such as the essays compiled in 'The Cosmological Eye' and 'Wisdom of the Heart' - as well as Miller’s 'The World of Sex'. The study - though somewhat dated (1968) - still has value as a secondary source for someone familiar with Miller’s work, though it remains preoccupied with the idea of Miller’s relationship to his own unconscious. In this respect, it makes reference to psychoanalytic theory, including the influence of Otto Rank and Carl Jung, on Miller’s thinking. An interesting distinction can be made here with the later work by Leon Lewis – ‘Henry Miller: The Major Writings’ (1986). Gordon sees 'Tropic of Cancer' as distinct, and 'Tropic of Capricorn' and The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy as forming the ‘auto-novels’ that constitute Miller’s original artistic plan. Certain specific ideas are worthy of mention in Gordon’s work. These include his mention of the Dionysian/Apollonian (Nietzsche 'The Birth of Tragedy'), the somewhat dated psychoanalytic approach (Jungian/Rank) and most importantly, the assertion that for Miller, art is a means to live life more fully, thus having a primarily therapeutic function, the living of life being of ultimately more importance, than the art itself.
October 6, 2015
Gordon, William A. The Mind and Art of Henry Miller
I was amazed to find that nobody has reviewed this compact and intelligent account of Henry Miller, and wondered why. OK, there are half a dozen obvious reasons for this, the first being that he’s not, to my knowledge at least, on any academic list of ‘classics.’ Next his work was once much sought after because it was banned - pornographic, obscene, anti-American, diffuse, disrespectful, etc, but now it doesn’t measure up to, say, Hemingway or Faulkner. There are other reasons, too, why Miller’s popularity has declined: he writes long, thick books; and they don’t fit easily into any category - are they novels, memoirs, essays, philosophy, psychology, sociology or … just books?
As William Gordon demonstrates in his book on Miller, subjects and categories are for Miller unreal in that they are intellectual concepts, coming after the fact of living experience. Mental and spiritual liberation is his constant answer: ‘Instead of repressing instinct, wishes, desires, and urges, we must live them out. Only thus can man find peace within himself, and peace within the self is the way to peace in the world.’ Apart from being a great entertainer, Miller has a deal of depth in his work - and of course in his life. He deserves every word of Gordon’s tribute.
I was amazed to find that nobody has reviewed this compact and intelligent account of Henry Miller, and wondered why. OK, there are half a dozen obvious reasons for this, the first being that he’s not, to my knowledge at least, on any academic list of ‘classics.’ Next his work was once much sought after because it was banned - pornographic, obscene, anti-American, diffuse, disrespectful, etc, but now it doesn’t measure up to, say, Hemingway or Faulkner. There are other reasons, too, why Miller’s popularity has declined: he writes long, thick books; and they don’t fit easily into any category - are they novels, memoirs, essays, philosophy, psychology, sociology or … just books?
As William Gordon demonstrates in his book on Miller, subjects and categories are for Miller unreal in that they are intellectual concepts, coming after the fact of living experience. Mental and spiritual liberation is his constant answer: ‘Instead of repressing instinct, wishes, desires, and urges, we must live them out. Only thus can man find peace within himself, and peace within the self is the way to peace in the world.’ Apart from being a great entertainer, Miller has a deal of depth in his work - and of course in his life. He deserves every word of Gordon’s tribute.
June 5, 2017
Lived in a cabin in the swamps with her mad mother.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews