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Jean Genet
Stephen Barber, Jean Genet’nin kendi eserleriyle hep iç içe geçmiş olağanüstü yaşamının özünü tam da o yaşama layık bir tarzla kavramaya girişiyor. Ele avuca sığmaz Genet’nin yaşamını bilhassa 1960’lı yıllarda birçok kesimden insan için ilham verici kılmış ve onun bugün önem taşımaya hâlâ devam eden parçalarına incelikle ışık tutuyor. Genet’nin seyahatleri, hapis yılları, duygusal ilişkileri, siyasi angajmanları ve eylemleri, romanları, tiyatro çalışmaları ve film projeleri Barber’ın anlatısında kesitler hâlinde gözler önüne seriliyor. İnsan hayatının en mühim meseleleri üzerine hayatı boyunca mütemadiyen kafa yormuş Genet’nin bu yaşamöyküsü tarih, edebiyat, tiyatro, sinema, görsel sanatlar gibi çeşitli alanlardan okurların ilgisini çekmeye aday. Siyaseti en kapsamlı şekilde yeniden tahayyül etme arzusundakiler için de, tahrik edici bir figüre dair etkileyici bir başvuru kaynağı.
“Genet’nin hayatının kritik dönemlerini yetkin biçimde inceleyen, temel sanatsal deneylerini derinlemesine kavrayan ve siyasal bağlılıklarını paylaşan bir çalışma… Bu kitabı okumaktan şahsen müthiş keyif aldım.”
- Edmund White
“Genet kimlik kimlik dolaşan bir gezgin; hayatını yabancı bir davayla –bu dava devrimci ve sürekli mücadele hâlinde olduğu sürece– birleştirmeyi amaçlayan bir turisttir.
- Edward Said, Geç Dönem Üslubu
“Genet’nin hayatının kritik dönemlerini yetkin biçimde inceleyen, temel sanatsal deneylerini derinlemesine kavrayan ve siyasal bağlılıklarını paylaşan bir çalışma… Bu kitabı okumaktan şahsen müthiş keyif aldım.”
- Edmund White
“Genet kimlik kimlik dolaşan bir gezgin; hayatını yabancı bir davayla –bu dava devrimci ve sürekli mücadele hâlinde olduğu sürece– birleştirmeyi amaçlayan bir turisttir.
- Edward Said, Geç Dönem Üslubu
166 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 28, 2021
Mostly of interest to those who don't know a lot about Genet. A short, dense work, and awkward. Early on I was blaming a clunky translation— until I realized that it was written in English!
Here is an example sentence from the section "Genet Fragments". This is by no means the best example of awkwardness, but this one sentence does manage however to gently mock its own content and posturing.
"He worked within the medium of the fragment with the awareness that it provided his preoccupations (themselves often concerned with the abruptness of visual and sensory revelations) with an articulatory lucidity that came from its density and the concentration of its textual elements; this kind of intentional fragmentation possessed the power to project an idea or image with shattering precision, like that contained by a cry or exclamation, though edged with the danger that such an impacted and volatile means of expression might become scrambled by an excess of its elements."
Scrambled by an excess of elements ... indeed. The point was well made.
And is it just me, or is anyone else tired of everything "interrogating" everything else? There is so much interrogation in the world now — surely this is a form of linguistic or critical torture.
Also, strangely, Barber refers to "the Lebanon" and "the Yemen"; terminology that feels quaint and outdated, but perhaps just British. But what do I know — I am from the Canada.
Here is an example sentence from the section "Genet Fragments". This is by no means the best example of awkwardness, but this one sentence does manage however to gently mock its own content and posturing.
"He worked within the medium of the fragment with the awareness that it provided his preoccupations (themselves often concerned with the abruptness of visual and sensory revelations) with an articulatory lucidity that came from its density and the concentration of its textual elements; this kind of intentional fragmentation possessed the power to project an idea or image with shattering precision, like that contained by a cry or exclamation, though edged with the danger that such an impacted and volatile means of expression might become scrambled by an excess of its elements."
Scrambled by an excess of elements ... indeed. The point was well made.
And is it just me, or is anyone else tired of everything "interrogating" everything else? There is so much interrogation in the world now — surely this is a form of linguistic or critical torture.
Also, strangely, Barber refers to "the Lebanon" and "the Yemen"; terminology that feels quaint and outdated, but perhaps just British. But what do I know — I am from the Canada.
February 26, 2013
I am not that crazy about Stephen Barber's book on Artaud, but I think his little book on Genet is a really great jem. Even Edmund White likes it - and he wrote a great biography on Genet. In fact I pretty much recommend the Reaktion Books Critical Lives series. All of them are super interesting, it not great. And this little Genet bio is pretty great.
September 7, 2009
Basically, Genet was a thief turned literary/cinema sensation by being at the right place at the right time. Europe was crumbling and its aftermath left it open for his works (some of which he wrote in prison) to be exaulted. Stephen Barber writes less scholarly in this book, taking on a more dramatic tone, which is a nice change from his other writings.
June 15, 2010
A historical account of a whore's son who was left to grow up at an orphanage. From petty shoplifter to a blackpanthers sympathiser and finally an activist for the Palestinian cause. This book is a good start to familiarise yourself with the man behind his works that are not necessarily appealing to everyone. Very bold and worthy of respect and acknowledgement.
August 6, 2011
This book is for those who always felt excruciatingly uncomfortable in Genet’s presence and yet cannot resist a certain (guilty) fascination with his life and work. The book is short and yet complete. (Fassbinder’s Querelle acquires a renewed appreciation after reading this book.)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews