To Hell With Culture

by Herbert Read

Herbert Read was a maverick character in the cultural life of the twentieth century. A radical leader of the avant garde in the 1930s, and an anarchist revolutionary during the war years, by the time of his death in 1968 he had become a key figure at the heart of the British cultural establishment. To Hell with Culture offers readers an ideal overview of the ideas that marked out this seminal and hugely influential thinker. It is a controversial work that engages the reader in a wide range of topics, from revolutionary art to pornography.
Adept at challenging assumptions and penetrating to the heart of any issue, Read's deft prose encourages the reader to think critically, to question and to subvert the voice of authority, of whatever political or cultural creed. Only through such a critical evaluation of culture, Read believes, can one appreciate the art that arises from the 'unpolitical manifestation of the human spirit'. At a time when authority and value are questionable terms, and when culture itself is a contested concept, Read's is both a challenging and an enlightening voice.

Genres: Art, Essays, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Cultural, Anthropology

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Sir Herbert Edward Read, (1893 - 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Politically, Read considered himself an anarchist, albeit in the English quietist tradition of Edward Carpenter and William Morris.

Read was co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Art & the publisher and editor-in-chief of Jung's collected works in English.

On 11 November 1985, Read was among 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner.

He was the father of the well-known writer Piers Paul Read, the BBC documentary maker John Read, the BBC producer and executive Tom Read, and the art historian Ben Read.

Reviews

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think he means that a radically democratic society is necessary so that ordinary people can work together to produce a material culture that doesn't suck. He kind of flips it, because usually the radically democratic society is the goal and art and education are ways to that goal but he has it all chicken-and-egged with education through art at the foundation of his edifice. Unfortunately, he builds on a lot of arguments from people like Sigmund Freud and Eric Gill, arguments that might have not always stood the test of time. Also, some of the essays are reactions to stuffy old Englishmen on the wrong side of history who are largely forgotten and that only adds to the feeling of dated-ness. Still, I think his point is worth reflecting on and maybe someone today could put it better or more universally than Read was able to.

[Javi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly brilliant - it all felt surprisingly modern and relevant, aside from 'The Problem of Pornography', which seems outdated even for the 60s. Lots of ideas about art and the world and politics swimming around at the moment. Overwhelmed. :)

[Loki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting, but meanders a little. There's also an odd tinge of elitism to his attitude, which is at odds with his support for democracy.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of Read's philosophy of art, itself a series of small corrections to the aesthetics of Eric Gill (as Read cites) and Jacques Maritain (unmentioned here). It makes for a surprisingly easy read since Read is more practical minded than Gill and more concrete than Maritain.

[Marawa Hassan]

ماهما صورتا مشكلة البحث فى الثقافة ؟
ما هى أهداف بحث هربرت ريد ؟
ما هو المنهج الذى يرفضة هربرت ريد فى البحث فى مفهوم الثقافة ؟