Literature and the Gods (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780375725432)

Brilliant, inspired, and gloriously erudite, Literature and the Gods is the culmination of Roberto Calasso's lifelong study of the gods in the human imagination. By uncovering the divine whisper that lies behind the best poetry and prose from across the centuries, Calasso gives us a renewed sense of the mystery and enchantment of great literature.

From the banishment of the classical divinities during the Age of Reason to their emancipation by the Romantics and their place in the literature of our own time, the history of the gods can also be read as a ciphered and splendid history of literary inspiration. Rewriting that story, Calasso carves out a sacred space for literature where the presence of the gods is discernible. His inquiry into the nature of "absolute literature" transports us to the realms of Dionysus and Orpheus, Baudelaire and Mallarm , and prompts a lucid and impassioned defense of poetic form, even when apparently severed from any social function. Lyrical and assured, Literature and the Gods is an intensely engaging work of literary affirmation that deserves to be read alongside the masterpieces it celebrates.

Author: Roberto Calasso
ISBN-10: 0375725431
ISBN-13: 9780375725432
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Language: English
Published: 06/04/2002
Pages: 226
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 8.02h x 5.20w x 0.60d