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The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard
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The Poetics of Space (1957)

by Gaston Bachelard

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Showing 5 of 5
Helpful reading for anyone building or occupying space.

Compare, in his essays on the imagination materielle [including "L'eau et les reves: Essai sur imagination de la matiere" (1942), and "reveries du repos" (1948)], Bachelard examines the formative processes of verbal symbolization, and demonstrates that nature often appears to be the target of our most aggressive impulses. Especially when we are dealing elementally with the world -- the air, water, earth and fire -- our words reflect a disposition toward nature that is destructive. I myself experienced this. As a youth, I seamlessly moved to attack. Repose was but a temporary redoubt of the hunt. My cat leaps to the flicker of movement in the pile of leaves. ( )
  keylawk | Jan 15, 2013 |
I'm guessing I would rate this more like a 3.5. Initially, I loved the book, but it grew to feel more and more like something out of the Romantic canon, and I was finally glad to be done with it. That said, there are moments of brilliance here, and it's definitely worth the read. ( )
  KatrinkaV | Dec 18, 2011 |
Reading this book is akin to dreaming. You will inhabit space in a new way, both on the page and in the real world. Brilliant. Essential. ( )
2 vote lovejunkie | Aug 1, 2008 |
I love this book! It would have to be way at the top of my list of books that changed my life and how I look at things around me! Does include a very large number of difficult philosophical and psychological terms, but if you read through, you can get most of them in context. ( )
  medievalmama | Jan 21, 2008 |
In spite of its size, this is not a book to be read quickly. Very deep stuff. ( )
  TheArchitect | Jan 25, 2007 |
Showing 5 of 5
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Gaston Bachelardprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jolas, MariaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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A philosopher who has evolved his entire thinking from the fundamental themes of the philosophy of science, and followed the main line of the active, growing rationalism of contemporary science as closely as he could, must forget his learning and break with all his habits of philosophical research, if he wants to study the problems posed by the poetic imagination.
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0807064734, Paperback)

This is a deep, magical, densely captivating book about space, our homes, how we live in them, and how dwellings and space affect us; it is as much a book of philosophy as a work of serious literature. It requires careful, preferably leisurely reading, with the possibility of moments to pause and digest and re-read the words. It will change the way you look at your home and your life, providing a deeper, more insightful relationship with the spaces you occupy.

(retrieved from Amazon Sat, 02 Oct 2010 09:41:37 -0400)

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Beacon Press

An edition of this book was published by Beacon Press.

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