Henry Miller: Escape from America (French Interview)

Some people live interesting lives, but write uninteresting works. Some people live uninteresting lives, but write interesting works. Henry Miller was a man that lived and wrote in a way only a few can emulate: His life and literary creations were equally interesting. What is great about this interview of Henry Miller is the ease in which he describes his unorthodox life. His unconventional ways were clearly an inspiration to his creative endeavors.

Revolutionary thinkers may take some issue with him. His politics seemed apolitical. He was disturbed by the direction he saw America going and then chose not to let it matter. Politically he was escapist. That's not good for helping create change in one's country or the world. Yet, when change is not happening it's not a bad way to live. This weekend I will escape back into his novel Sexus. I might not finish it until next week. After I'm done there are still a few books by Marx and Paine in my book collection needing to be read. They are not far from my tattered copy of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.

Georges Bataille : Literature And Evil (An Interview)

In Devin Zane Shaw's last blog he highlighted the literary legacy of José Saramago: "writer,communist,iconoclast." Another author that can fit that description is Georges Bataille (1897-1962). This French writer was famous for everything controversial. He is known for outlandish eroticism such as his 1928 novel "Story of The Eye." He used various styles and genres to get across his views on sexuality, politics, and philosophy. Bataille was comfortable using the ideas Karl Marx juxtaposed to Marquis de Sade (as currently seen in the works of Slavoj Zizek). He was certainly an exciting thinker.

This 1958 interview is short and focuses on his work "Literature and Evil." The concepts discussed are thought provoking even if they seem somewhat simplistic. Who can resist Frenchmen dressed up talking about literary theory? Especially when the topic involves Kafka and Baudelaire.