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Lectures and Essays
Posthumously published lectures and essays by Russian emigre linguist.
149 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
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June 12, 2016
Not a very well-known book. In fact I believe there may be fewer than 10 copies in the US. (There are only 4 in university libraries, according to WorldCat.) Mine is a xerox of the copy from Columbia University Library.
Nicholas Bachtin was the younger brother of Mikhail Bakhtin, a somewhat better known Russian literary theorist. I know of him because he was a good friend of Wittgenstein's. And I read this posthumous collection of essays to see if I could find any intersections of their work. Wittgenstein once said: "really one should write philosophy only as one writes a poem." It is completely unclear what Wittgenstein means by this. What seems slightly promising is that Bachtin has a lot to say about poetry. I'm still processing what he has to say for possible insights.
Apart from the Wittgenstein connection, the essays have merits of their own. Bachtin was a linguistics professor, with a deep knowledge of Classical Greece and, of course, Russia--both interests of mine. I'm glad I read it, and it might make an appearance in my next book.
Nicholas Bachtin was the younger brother of Mikhail Bakhtin, a somewhat better known Russian literary theorist. I know of him because he was a good friend of Wittgenstein's. And I read this posthumous collection of essays to see if I could find any intersections of their work. Wittgenstein once said: "really one should write philosophy only as one writes a poem." It is completely unclear what Wittgenstein means by this. What seems slightly promising is that Bachtin has a lot to say about poetry. I'm still processing what he has to say for possible insights.
Apart from the Wittgenstein connection, the essays have merits of their own. Bachtin was a linguistics professor, with a deep knowledge of Classical Greece and, of course, Russia--both interests of mine. I'm glad I read it, and it might make an appearance in my next book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review