Mallarmé, or the Poet of Nothingness

by Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Sturm (Translator)

This is the first translation of a major text by Sartre on one of the greatest modern French poets, Stéphane Mallarmé, whom Sartre hailed as a "hero, prophet, wizard, and tragedian." Written in 1953, Sartre's text provides not only an invigorating and convincing intrepretation of Mallarmé, but also an original overview of French literature in the nineteenth century. Ernest Sturm is Professor of French at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology). His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."
Sartre held an open relationship with prominent feminist and fellow existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Together, Sartre and de Beauvoir challenged the cultural and social assumptions and expectations of their upbringings, which they considered bourgeois, in both lifestyles and thought. The conflict between oppressive, spiritually destructive conformity (mauvaise foi, literally, 'bad faith') and an "authentic" way of "being" became the dominant theme of Sartre's early work, a theme embodied in his principal philosophical work Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943). Sartre's introduction to his philosophy is his work Existentialism Is a Humanism (L'existentialisme est un humanisme, 1946), originally presented as a lecture.

Reviews

[السعيد عبدالغني · Rating 5 out of 5]

سارتر فاشخ الشعراء في حركة البارنسيه والفن للفن في القرن ١٩ اللي منهم مالارميه وبيحلل بماركسية وجودية ودقيقة فعلا على الرغم من اعتراضي على كتير لكنه لمس مناطق منزوية اوي، اول كتاب يعجبني ليه بعد الوجودية مذهب إنساني وكم رواية وشوية من الوجود والعدم وكتاب التخيل

[Madeline]

TELL ME MORE, JEAN-PAUL. *draws sparkly hearts*

Sorry, I don't have anything more intelligent to say. I mean, okay, yes, yes, the reliance on Freud is disappointing, but I am an English major: I am used to that kind of disappointment.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather interesting and sustained invective/tribute to Stéphane Mallarmé and the other poets of his time.

[Miles Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relate

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

شعر مالارمه را هرگز نخوانده ام و نمی شناسم. شاید به همین دلیل، یا به دلیل پیچیده گویی های سارتر درباره ی شعر و مالارمه، از این کتاب چیزی دستگیرم نشد.
در مورد ژان پل سارتر، مطلبی جداگانه نوشته ام؛
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

[Nour Al-Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be Mallarmé's and Sartre's third wheel.