Overview

The relationship between literature and life can be construed as a counterpoint of fate and freewill. Rather than equating fate to the ‘hand we are dealt’ which is reducible to the social or familial environments into which we are born, this book explores the idea of fate through the books that shape our lives and under whose influence we write. Writing in this sense is seen as beyond its utility of making meaning. It is a way of recovering agency in the face of overwhelming experiences. In juxtaposing factuality and fiction, the author makes a case for a radically empirical approach to human experience.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Jackson
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781805397045

ISBN 10:   1805397044
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   01 October 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Prologue Part I: Precursors: Reflections from a Literary Life Preface Chapter 1. Constellations Chapter 2. They Were Alive and They Spoke to Me Chapter 3. Aftereffects Chapter 4. Of Time and the River Chapter 5. Down and out in Paris and London Chapter 6. ‘The Being I Refer to as Me’ Chapter 7. Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't Chapter 8. Utopias Chapter 9. In Limbo Chapter 10. Down the Mine Chapter 11. Wheels Within Wheels Chapter 12. 'Something Tremendous Has Happened' Chapter 13. Illuminations Chapter 14. 'Like Somebody Else Was Once' Chapter 15. The Limits of Logos Chapter 16. The House of the Dead Chapter 17. The Shadow Chapter 18. Knights Errant Chapter 19. In the Footsteps of Hans Christian Andersen Chapter 20. Neither/Nor Chapter 21. Anecdote of the I-Beam Chapter 22. The Homeless Mind Chapter 23. Quicksand Chapter 24. Only Connect Chapter 25. Watermarks Chapter 26. Cat's Cradle Part II: Passages Preface Chapter 27. Side by Side Chapter 28. La Forza Del Destino Chapter 29. Save Me Chapter 30. Kind of Blue Chapter 31. Havanaise Chapter 32. The Story of the Man with Three Braids Chapter 33. The Remorseful Day Index

Reviews

“Michael Jackson is one of the preeminent thinkers and writers in anthropology and in this extraordinary book he combines his fluency as ethnographer and essayist with beautifully written short stories. In that unconventional combination, the book stands out as new and experimental – yet a logical continuation of the author's groundbreaking oeuvre.” • Hans Lucht, DIIS

Author Information

Michael Jackson is Senior Research Fellow in World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of over forty books of poetry, ethnography, fiction and memoir, including The Politics of Storytelling (2002), The Genealogical Imagination (2021), Coincidences (2021) andFriendship (2023)

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions