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Loading... A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past123 | 1 | 223,208 |
(3.67) | 1 | "We live in a culture that prizes memory--how much we can store, the quality of what's preserved, how we might better document and retain the moments of our life while fighting off the nightmare of losing all that we have experienced. But what if forgetfulness were seen not as something to fear--be it in the form of illness or simple absentmindedness--but rather as a blessing, a balm, a path to peace and rebirth? Lewis Hyde's A Primer for Forgetting is a remarkable experiment in scholarship, autobiography, and social criticism by the author of the classics The Gift and Trickster Makes This World. It forges a new vision of forgetfulness by assembling fragments of art and writing from the ancient world to the modern, weighing the potential boons forgetfulness might offer the present moment as a creative and political force. It also turns inward, using the author's own life and memory as a canvas upon which to extol the virtues of a concept too long taken as an evil. Drawing material from Hesiod to Jorge Luis Borges to Elizabeth Bishop to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from myths and legends to very real and recent traumas both personal and historical, A Primer for Forgetting is a unique and remarkable synthesis that only Lewis Hyde could have produced."--Page [2] of cover.… (more) |
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▾References References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in EnglishNone ▾Book descriptions "We live in a culture that prizes memory--how much we can store, the quality of what's preserved, how we might better document and retain the moments of our life while fighting off the nightmare of losing all that we have experienced. But what if forgetfulness were seen not as something to fear--be it in the form of illness or simple absentmindedness--but rather as a blessing, a balm, a path to peace and rebirth? Lewis Hyde's A Primer for Forgetting is a remarkable experiment in scholarship, autobiography, and social criticism by the author of the classics The Gift and Trickster Makes This World. It forges a new vision of forgetfulness by assembling fragments of art and writing from the ancient world to the modern, weighing the potential boons forgetfulness might offer the present moment as a creative and political force. It also turns inward, using the author's own life and memory as a canvas upon which to extol the virtues of a concept too long taken as an evil. Drawing material from Hesiod to Jorge Luis Borges to Elizabeth Bishop to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from myths and legends to very real and recent traumas both personal and historical, A Primer for Forgetting is a unique and remarkable synthesis that only Lewis Hyde could have produced."--Page [2] of cover. ▾Library descriptions No library descriptions found. ▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description |
Viviamo in una cultura che premia la memoria: quanto possiamo conservare, la qualità di ciò che è preservato, come possiamo meglio documentare e conservare i momenti della nostra vita combattendo l'incubo della perdita di tutto ciò che abbiamo vissuto.
E se l'oblio non fosse visto come qualcosa da temere, ma piuttosto come una benedizione, un balsamo, una via per la pace e il perdono? "A Primer for Forgetting" è un notevole esperimento di studio, autobiografia e critica sociale. Costruisce una nuova visione dell'oblio assemblando frammenti d'arte e scrivendo dal mondo antico al moderno, soppesando i potenziali benefici che l'oblio potrebbe offrire il momento presente come una forza filosofica e politica.
Il libro scava anche dentro di noi, usando la vita e la memoria dell'autore come una tela su cui esaltare le virtù di un concetto troppo a lungo considerato un male. Attingendo materiale da Esiodo a Jorge Luis Borges a Elizabeth Bishop e all'arcivescovo Desmond Tutu, da miti e leggende a traumi molto reali e recenti sia personali che storici, "A Primer for Forgetting" è una sintesi unica e notevole che solo Lewis Hyde avrebbe potuto produrre.
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We live in a culture that prizes memory - how much we can store, the quality of what's preserved, how we might better document and retain the moments of our life while fighting off the nightmare of losing all that we have experienced. But what if forgetfulness were seen not as something to fear, but rather as a blessing, a balm, a path to peace and forgiveness?
A Primer for Forgetting is a remarkable experiment in scholarship, autobiography and social criticism. It forges a new vision of forgetfulness by assembling fragments of art and writing from the ancient world to the modern, weighing the potential boons forgetfulness might offer the present moment as a philosophical and political force. It also turns inward, using the author's own life and memory as a canvas upon which to extol the virtues of a concept too long taken as an evil.
Drawing material from Hesiod to Jorge Luis Borges to Elizabeth Bishop to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from myths and legends to very real and recent traumas both personal and historical, A Primer for Forgetting is a unique and remarkable synthesis that only Lewis Hyde could have produced. | |
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Haiku summary |
Remember to forget Forget to remember That's what is left! | |
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