The Paul Goodman Reader

by Paul Goodman, Taylor Stoehr (Editor)

A one-man think tank, Paul Goodman wrote more than 30 books, most of them before his decade of fame as a social critic in the 1960s. Goodman in those earlier days thought of himself mostly as an old-fashioned man of letters, and to do justice to his wide-ranging interests and growing activism, this compendium provides excerpts that span his entire career, from the bestselling Growing Up Absurd to landmark books on anarchism, community planning, education, poetics, and psychotherapy. Goodman's fiction and poetry are represented by The Empire City, a comic novel; prize-winning short stories; and poems that once led America's most respected poetry reviewer, Hayden Carruth, to exclaim, "Not one dull page. It’s almost unbelievable."

Genres: Philosophy

500 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Paul Goodman was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decentralization, democracy, education, media, politics, psychology, technology, urban planning, and war. As a humanist and self-styled man of letters, his works often addressed a common theme of the individual citizen's duties in the larger society, and the responsibility to exercise autonomy, act creatively, and realize one's own human nature.
Born to a Jewish family in New York City, Goodman was raised by his aunts and sister and attended City College of New York. As an aspiring writer, he wrote and published poems and fiction before receiving his doctorate from the University of Chicago. He returned to writing in New York City and took sporadic magazine writing and teaching jobs, several of which he lost for his overt bisexuality and World War II draft resistance. Goodman discovered anarchism and wrote for libertarian journals. His radicalism was rooted in psychological theory. He co-wrote the theory behind Gestalt therapy based on Wilhelm Reich's radical Freudianism and held psychoanalytic sessions through the 1950s while continuing to write prolifically.
His 1960 book of social criticism, Growing Up Absurd, established his importance as a mainstream, antiestablishment cultural theorist. Goodman became known as "the philosopher of the New Left" and his anarchistic disposition was influential in 1960s counterculture and the free school movement. Despite being the foremost American intellectual of non-Marxist radicalism in his time, his celebrity did not endure far beyond his life. Goodman is remembered for his utopian proposals and principled belief in human potential.

Reviews

[Ned Rifle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this after reading Susan Sontag's piece about him in 'Under the Sign of Saturn', in which she paints a not altogether pleasant picture of him personally but firmly endorses his work. Thankfully I never had the chance to be snubbed by him, as I'm not sure I could have stayed so positive.

The writings collected here cover many topics, but the ideas remain consistent throughout. An anarchist, sociologist and co-founder of Gestalt therapy, Goodman had something to say about most anything and usually it is something worth saying. His thoughts on education, psychology, sociology, architecture, politics and literature are all well worth listening to. In the first essay I read, the first three people referenced were Buber, Kropotkin and Kafka - surely that's good enough for anyone. Ok, I'll admit it, this review is unmitigated waffle (so far) serving only as a vehicle. When I mentioned the first three people referenced to someone they said it sounded like the start of a joke; I duly created that joke:

Buber, Kropotkin and Kafka walk into a bar.

Kafka turn to his companions and says, "Can I get you anything, lads?"

Both Kropotkin and Buber politely decline this offer and go to sit down and begin their inevitably interesting discussion.

Kafka walks up to the bar, waiting a short while until he can catch the barman's eye; once he has, he says softly, "Can I have a beard, please?"


Sorry about that. The book is very good though and this is the only review so far.

[Tim McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man who builds an argument to support what he believes, say we all do it but Mr. Goodman professed to be a man of letters. Maybe LSD would help in following his thoughts.

[Katrinka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly enough, the best part of this collection is Goodman's poetry. By forcing himself to work within a succinct form, he tends to avoid some of the desultory paths he follows in his short stories, and, often, in his commentary. Given, there's a chunk of Empire City in here-- which on its own, is amazing-- but trying to pick and choose representative selections from that novel seems like an impossible task.