{"product_id":"the-absence-of-myth-writings-on-surrealism-9781804296592","title":"The Absence of Myth: Writings on Surrealism","description":"For Bataille, \"the absence of myth\" had itself become the myth of the modern age. In a world that had \"lost the secret of its cohesion,\" Bataille saw surrealism as both a symptom and the beginning of an attempt to address this loss. His writings on this theme are the result of profound reflection in the wake of World War Two. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Absence of Myth\u003c\/i\u003e is the most incisive study yet made of surrealism, insisting on its importance as a cultural and social phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. Clarifying Bataille's links with the surrealist movement, and throwing revealing light on his complex and greatly misunderstood relationship with Andre Breton, \u003ci\u003eThe Absence of Myth\u003c\/i\u003e shows Bataille to be a much more radical figure than his postmodernist devotees would have us believe: a man who continually tried to extend Marxist social theory; a pessimistic thinker, but one as far removed from nihilism as can be. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIntroduced and translated by Michael Richardson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeorges Bataille\u003c\/b\u003e, French essayist and novelist, was born in 1897. He converted to Catholicism, then to Marxism, and was interested in psychoanalysis and mysticism. As curator of the municipal library in Orleans, he led a relatively simple life, although he became involved, usually on the fringes, with the surrealist movement. He founded the literary review \u003ci\u003eCritique\u003c\/i\u003e in 1946, which he edited until his death in 1962, and was also a founder of the review \u003ci\u003eDocuments\u003c\/i\u003e, which published many of the leading surrealist writers. His writing is a mixture of poetry and philosophy, fantasy and history, and his first novel, \u003ci\u003eStory of the Eye\u003c\/i\u003e, was written under the pseudonym of Lord Auch. Bataille's other works include the novels\u003ci\u003e Blue of Noon\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eL'Abbé C\u003c\/i\u003e, and the volumes of essays \u003ci\u003eEroticism \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Literature and Evil\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Richardson\u003c\/b\u003e is a widely published critic, editor, and translator of works on surrealism including Georges Bataille's \u003ci\u003eThe Absence of Myth: Writings on Surrealism\u003c\/i\u003e. Other books he has edited and\/or translated include \u003ci\u003eRefusal of the Shadow: Surrealism and the Caribbean\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Dedalus Book of Surrealism (The Identity of Things)\u003c\/i\u003e. Currently he is a visiting fellow in the Centre for Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50878050795794,"sku":"9781804296592","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e4bfd10f-cd1a-4dce-ac9c-b13c3083e25d.jpg?v=1763538722","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-absence-of-myth-writings-on-surrealism-9781804296592","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}