The Renewal of Literature. Emersonian Reflections

London England: Faber & Faber, 1988. Hardback. Underlining and ticks in margin in pen to some pages. Previous owners name and date to inside cover. Of what use is literature to daily life? Why do writers exaggerate its cultural, political and social importance? What is its overall value, given that most people have never been able to comprehend it at all? Just what is literature, and why does it seem it must be less intelligible than other kinds of writing? These are among the fundamental questions posed by the author, the highly renowned American critic, in this strikingly original, lucid and tough-minded book. Treating works of literature as, in Emerson's words, 'tokens of the everlasting effort to produce' - exploiting the idea that there are hidden similarities between technology and literary production - Poirier extends and enriches the Emersonian tradition. Poirier's study is of formidable scope and audacity, and challenges stale modernist and postmodernist assumptions. This book will have a lasting historical impact on methods of criticism, and will stimulate new excitement and fresh perspectives on the massive literary inheritance which both inspires and constrains us. 245 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Academic Literature.) . 1st Uk Edition. Cloth. Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hardback.