{"product_id":"the-preparation-of-the-novel-lecture-courses-and-seminars-at-the-collzuge-de-france-1978-1979-and-1979-1980-9780231136150","title":"The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the Collège de France (1978-1979 and 1979-1980)","description":"\u003cp\u003eCompleted just weeks before his death, the lectures in this volume mark a critical juncture in the career of Roland Barthes, in which he declared the intention, deeply felt, to write a novel. Unfolding over the course of two years, Barthes engaged in a unique pedagogical experiment: he combined teaching and writing to \"simulate\" the trial of novel-writing, exploring every step of the creative process along the way. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBarthes's lectures move from the desire to write to the actual decision making, planning, and material act of producing a novel. He meets the difficulty of transitioning from short, concise notations (exemplified by his favorite literary form, haiku) to longer, uninterrupted flows of narrative, and he encounters a number of setbacks. Barthes takes solace in a diverse group of writers, including Dante, whose \u003ci\u003eLa Vita Nuova\u003c\/i\u003e was similarly inspired by the death of a loved one, and he turns to classical philosophy, Taoism, and the works of François-René Chateaubriand, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Kafka, and Marcel Proust. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book uniquely includes eight elliptical plans for Barthes's unwritten novel, which he titled \u003ci\u003eVita Nova\u003c\/i\u003e, and lecture notes that sketch the critic's views on photography. Following on \u003ci\u003eThe Neutral: Lecture Course at the Collège de France (1977-1978)\u003c\/i\u003e and a third forthcoming collection of Barthes lectures, this volume provides an intensely personal account of the labor and love of writing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRoland Barthes (1915-1980) was one of the most influential critics and philosophers of the twentieth century. His works include \u003ci\u003eThe Neutral\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMythologies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eS\/Z\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Lover's Discourse\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eCamera Lucida\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50692627235090,"sku":"9780231136150","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7c7f0582-3a93-4029-a36e-28a4c8e2b60e.jpg?v=1734130018","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-preparation-of-the-novel-lecture-courses-and-seminars-at-the-collzuge-de-france-1978-1979-and-1979-1980-9780231136150","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}