At her best and worst miss sontag offers three pennies worth of thought in any one sentence. It includes some of sontag s bestknown works, including on style, and the eponymous essay against interpretation. Against interpretation, and other essays by susan sontag. Although she made it clear that she was not against all interpretation of works of art, her position quickly became associated with the idea of art for arts sakethat is, with a concern only with form and style, not with morality and content. Susan sontag is the author of four novels, the benefactor, death kit, the volcano lover and in america, which won the 2000 national book award for fiction.
Buy a cheap copy of against interpretation and other essays book by susan sontag. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read against interpretation and other essays. Im currently writing a paper that incorporates some of sontag s ideas in both against interpretation and on style the two most polemic of the essays in this collection. Against interpretation, susan sontag s second book, was published in 1966, but some of the essays date back to 1961, when she was still writing for the benefactor. First published in 1966, this celebrated book sontag s firs. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read against interpretation. The task of interpretation is virtually one of translation. Jul 02, 2009 buy against interpretation and other essays penguin modern classics by sontag, susan isbn. By interpretation, i mean here a conscious act of the mind which illustrates a certain code, certain rules of interpretation. The earliest theory of art, that of the greek philosophers, proposed that art was mimesis, imitation of reality. With the publication of her first book of criticism, against interpretation, in 1966, susan sontag placed herself at the forefront of an era of cultural and political transformation. The function of criticism should be to show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means. Susan sontag was born in manhattan in 1933 and studied at the universities of chicago, harvard and oxford. It includes some of sontags bestknown works, including on style, and the eponymous essay against interpretation.
Against interpretation and other essays by susan sontag. With her insatiable appetite for creativity in all its forms, sontag produces a collection of essays that is an ambitious work. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels. Susan sontag wrote four novels, the benefactor, death kit, the volcano lover, and in america, which won the 2000 national book award for fiction. If you want shrewd, evocative cultural analysis from a young, brilliant author, this is the book for you. It includes some of sontag s bestknown works, including on style, notes on camp, and the titular essay against interpretation. The years between 1962, when she completed her first novel, the benefactor, and 1965, when she began her second, death kit, were for sontag a sharply defined period in which she wrote many of the literary critical. Susan sontag books list of books by author susan sontag. Rather than even attempt to synthesize sontag s far ranging criticism, i have decided to concentrate on a single piece of criticism which has had a profound influence on the way many people analyze film, myself included. Against interpretation and other essays penguin modern classics.
As well as the title essay and the famous notes on camp, against interpretation includes original. Buy against interpretation and other essays penguin modern classics by sontag, susan isbn. Susan sontag has said that her earliest idea of what a writer should be was someone who is interested in everything. Originally published in 1966, it has never gone out of. Against interpretation by susan sontag the guardian. Jan 01, 2005 reevaluation of sontags seminal essay against interpretation. Against interpretation is sontags influential essay within against interpretation and other essays that discusses the divisions between two different kinds of art criticism and theory. Susan sontag is the author of four novels, the benefactor, death kit, the volcano loverand in americawhich won the national book award, 2000. The french intellectual that leaves the largest trace on against interpretation is roland barthes. Feb 05, 2016 buy here you can find me here as well. Against interpretation by susan sontag, 9780312280864, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Against interpretation and other essays penguin modern. Sontag has seemingly read everything, from sophocles to sartre, but has. What is important now, she wrote, is to recover our senses.
Against interpretation susan sontag the earliest experience of art must have been that it was incantatory, magical. Publication date 1969 topics literature, modern, criticism publisher. I also sat down and properly read a couple of books by susan sontag against interpretation and where the stress falls and loved more or less every word of both, especially the stuff i vehemently disagreed with. Originally published in 1966, it has never gone out of print and has influenced generations of. Against interpretation and other essays ebook written by susan sontag. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Against interpretation, and other essays susan sontag on. In the latter, sontag argues that in the new approach to aesthetics the spiritual importance of art is being replaced by the emphasis on the. Sontag was among the first critics to write about the intersection between high and low art forms, and to give them equal value as valid topics, shown here in her epochmaking pieces notes on camp and against.
Against interpretation and other essays penguin modern classics paperback softback paperback by sontag, susan 0. Its very difficult, however, to condense these essays down to a couple concepts, or draw a couple of quotes out of them. Rather than even attempt to synthesize sontags far ranging criticism, i have decided to concentrate on a single piece of criticism which has had a profound influence on the way many people analyze film, myself included. I also dipped in and out of the first volume of her journals. Beginning with a discussion of the problem of interpretation and hermeneutics in cultural criticism, susan sontag, herself. Read by tavia gilbert against interpretation was susan sontags first collection of essays and is a modern classic. Aug 30, 2011 her first work of nonfiction, against interpretation, published in 1966, was a sweeping assessment of art and contemporary culture as well as an instant classic. Complete summary of susan sontag s against interpretation and other essays. Against interpretation ebook by susan sontag rakuten kobo. See all books authored by susan sontag, including on photography, and regarding the pain of others, and more on. Reevaluation of sontag s seminal essay against interpretation. If one were to judge these essays in terms of price, their value would be very high. Against interpretation and other essays susan sontag. Against interpretation and other essays, susan sontag.
It includes the groundbreaking essays notes on camp and against. January 16, 1933 december 28, 2004 was an american writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist. Against interpretation and other essays book by susan sontag. Susan sontag 19332004 was born in manhattan and studied at the universities of chicago, harvard, and oxford. Her work includes the essay collections against interpretation 1966. Against interpretation and other essays by susan sontag goodreads. Susan sontag, against interpretation and other essays. Nearly a century later, susan sontag january 16, 1933december 28, 2004. Against interpretation was susan sontags first collection of essays and is a. She is the author of four novels, a collection of stories, several plays, and six books of essays, among them against interpretation and on photography. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Against interpretation is a selection from susan sontags early writings about the arts and contemporary culture. As well as the title essay and the famous notes on camp, against interpretation includes original and provocative discussions of sartre, simone weil, godard, beckett, sciencefiction movies, psychoanalysis, and contemporary religious thinking.
Against interpretation, by susan sontag the independent. Lecture on susan sontag, against interpretation youtube. If you like an authors work susan sontag s unique essays, for instance they bring together all the books you would want in one place, in this case, her essay collections from against interpretation, which made her reputation, to her later books on photography and illness as metaphor. Susan sontag created a sensation in the mid1960s with her essay against interpretation. Because if you are reading a book mainly book entitled by susan sontag against interpretation, and other essays paperback your thoughts will drift away trough every.
So in many ways this book on sontag is a defense of the essay. Against interpretation was susan sontags first collection of essays and made her name as one of the most incisive thinkers. May 02, 20 against interpretation and other essays ebook written by susan sontag. Against interpretation and other essays is a collection of essays by susan sontag which was published in 1966. Originally published in 1966, it has never gone out of print and has influenced generations of readers all over the world. Sontag had come to new york in the early 60s, eager to become the writer she so longed to become.
Against interpretation is a collection of essays by susan sontag published in 1966. Against interpretation and other essays quotes by susan sontag. Aug 25, 2001 against interpretation was susan sontag s first collection of essays and is a modern classic. Click here and sign up to receive special offers, and the latest news from books kinokuniya webstore. She is also the author of i, etcetera, a collection of stories. Originally published in 1966, it has never gone out of print and has influenced generations of readers. A dazzling intellectual performance vogueagainst interpretation was susan sontag s first collection of essays and made her name as one of the most incisive thinkers of our time. In fact, so well did sontag learn at the foot of the master that notes on camp, the standout essay in this book, could almost be a chapter from his own classic collection of essays mythologies. Directed to art, interpretation means plucking a set of elements the x, the y, the z, and so forth from the whole work.
Against interpretation was susan sontags first collection of essays and is a modern classic. It includes some of sontags bestknown works, including on style, and the. Her nonfiction works include against interpretation, on photography, illness as metaphor, aids and its metaphors and regarding the pain of others. Against interpretation and other essays by susan sontag 5,996 ratings. This most recent edition features a new afterword by sontag. Against interpretation and other essays audiobook by susan. Against interpretation, susan sontags second book, was published in 1966, but some of the essays date back to 1961, when she was still writing for the benefactor sontag had come to new york in the early 60s, eager to become the writer she so longed to. Sontag was the author of several novels, including the national book awardwinning in america, and many works of nonfiction including against interpretation. Against interpretation, styles of radical will, and under the sign of saturn. Its a booklength essay, and what i value most in sontag is her work as an essayist, especially her first three collections of essays. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. It is a line that susan sontag quotes toward the end of her 1977.
Jan, 2017 the title essay, against interpretation, is a defense of art against criticism, which sontag saw as diminishing the spiritual power of creativity. Against interpretation, by susan sontag commentary. Where to start with susan sontag the new york public library. Against interpretation was susan sontag s first collection of essays and is a modern classic. Stress the modernity here, since she is distinguished less by a decided or passionate point of view compare her as a film critic, for example, with two such disparate personalities as james agee and kenneth tynan than by an eagerness to explore anything new. Thirtyfive years after her first collection of essays, the now classic against interpretation, our most important essayist has chosen more than forty longer and shorter pieces from the last two decades that illustrate a deeply. Her ideas at the time of a writer was someone interested in everything. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. First published in 1966, this celebrated book sontag s first collection of essays quickly became a modern classic, and has had an enormous influence in america and abroad on thinking about the arts and contemporary culture. And then you untie the knots along the way, only to create more knots. Susan sontag on the trouble with treating art and cultural material. Her first work of nonfiction, against interpretation, published in 1966, was a sweeping assessment of art and contemporary culture as well as an instant classic. First published in 1966, this celebrated book sontag s first collection of essaysquickly became a modern classic, and has had an enormous influence in america. Against interpretation and other essays by susan sontag, 9780141190068, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
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