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EXISTENTIAL CRITICISM : Selected Book Reviews : Nov. 23
Special offer for visitors to this site - £2 off the cover price of the new Pauper’s Press title, Existential Criticism - selected book reviews by Colin Wilson. £12.95 for orders received before publication day. Post free to UK addresses. Cheque payable to Colin Stanley here. Here’s the lowdown:
In his groundbreaking essay, 'Existential Criticism', written in 1959, Colin Wilson argued that:
"No art can be judged by purely aesthetic standards, although a painting or a piece of music may appear to give a purely aesthetic pleasure. Aesthetic enjoyment is an intensification of the vital response, and this response forms the basis of all value judgements. The existentialist contends that all values are connected with the problems of human existence, the stature of man, the purpose of life. These values are inherent in all works of art, in addition to their aesthetic values, and are closely connected with them."
This statement provides a clear insight into his motives when selecting, analysing, assessing and reviewing literature-a position he has maintained consistently for over fifty years. Apart from his classic study The Craft of the Novel (London: Victor Gollancz, 1975) some of the best examples of Colin Wilson's work in this field are contained in the hundreds of book reviews which have lain forgotten for many years among the pages of such journals as Books & Bookmen, The Literary Review, The London Magazine, John O'London's, The Spectator, The Aylesford Review and others.
This volume, selected and edited by Colin Stanley, contains a selection of reviews which provide a refreshingly different slant on the life and works of Kingsley Amis, Emily Brontë, E.M. Forster, Graham Greene, James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, Edgar Allan Poe, George Bernard Shaw, Alexander Trocchi, Oscar Wilde, Henry Williamson and many others.
Vaughan Robertson (a.k.a. Rapatahana) has sent me a review of Superconsciousness - it’s on the ‘Review’ page.
ADRIFT IN SOHO
Colin’s 1961 novel Adrift in Soho is to be filmed by Pablo Behrens. It is currently “in development stage” by Burning Films. Full story here: www.adriftinsoho.com
University of Nottingham Archive
Dear Readers,
Fans/scholars will no doubt be delighted to know that a Colin Wilson Archive is to be set-up at the University of Nottingham. The basis of this is my own collection of books, articles, magazines, letters, manuscripts etc which is due to be handed over at the end of August. This will sit alongside a huge collection of the work of D.H.Lawrence.
At present I do not know when the archive will be in a condition to receive students/visitors but I will keep you informed. In the meantime if anyone out there has any original Wilson material they would like to add to the archive, can they please contact me.
all the best
Colin.
Colin Stanley
Managing Editor
Paupers' Press
37 Quayside Close
Trent Bridge
Nottingham NG2 3BP
United Kingdom
Tel/Fax: 0115-9863334
