<div>One of the twentieth century&rsquo;s greatest novelists offers his take on the Spanish classic. The author of Lolita and Pale Fire was not only a master of fiction but a distinguished literary critic as well. In this collection of lectures, which he delivered at Harvard in the early 1950s, Vladimir Nabokov shares insights based on a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the seventeenth-century novel by Miguel de Cervantes, a timeless classic and one of the most deeply influential works in all of Western literature. Rejecting the common interpretation of Don Quixote as a warm satire, Nabokov perceives the work as a catalog of cruelty through which the gaunt knight passes. Edited and with a preface by Fredson Bowers, this volume offers &ldquo;a powerful, critical, and dramatic elaboration of the theme of illusion&rdquo; (V. S. Pritchett, The New York Review of Books). </div>

Lectures on Don Quixote

<div>A unique collection of stories alive with intellectual and imaginative energy Inspired by sources as diverse as Virgil, Dumas, and the daily newspaper, the 8 stories in Guy Davenport&rsquo;s Eclogues reflect the wide-ranging passions and curiosities of one of America&rsquo;s most original and agile writers. Taking the form of diary entries and pastoral poetry, and with allusions to Italo Calvino and the Greek gods, these stories are prime examples of Davenport&rsquo;s ingenuity and mastery of technique. Eclogues includes philosophical explorations and portrayals of deeply human emotions with stories such as &ldquo;The Trees of Lystra,&rdquo; Davenport&rsquo;s meditation on the intersection of early Christian doctrine and Greek myth, and &ldquo;On Some Lines of Virgil,&rdquo; in which a group of teenagers experiments with sexuality during a lazy summer in Bordeaux. The author&rsquo;s playfulness and defiance of expectations make for a fascinating and surprising read. </div>

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Eclogues

<div>Guy Davenport links the essential ideas of our cultural landscape in stories that nod to the philosophers, artists, and writers who came before him Reality, fiction, history, and art all converge in this collection as Guy Davenport explores complex ideas within narratives that are full of emotional depth. Fearless and inventive in style, these stories take many forms, such as the imagined World War I journals of sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in &ldquo;The Bowmen of Shu&rdquo; and the parallel tales of poets Matsuo Basho and Ezra Pound hiking the same mountain trail centuries apart in &ldquo;Fifty-Seven Views of Fujiyama.&rdquo; In the title story, which also features illustrations by the author, a group of philosophers tries to establish a utopia in Amsterdam, harkening back to a prelapsarian world of uncomplicated sexuality and nature untarnished by human influence. The idea that the past perpetually influences the present is at the heart of Apples and Pears as Davenport relocates his references from all eras to contemporary times&mdash;and as he uses measured, poetic language to uncover the cyclical nature of culture. </div>

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Apples and Pears

<div>&ldquo;Davenport writes with equal imagination and verve about the tanginess of an orange, the mystery of love, quantum physics, music, and a lashing rainstorm.&rdquo; &mdash;Booklist Featuring both short stories and critical pieces, The Death of Picasso exhibits the versatility and innovative thinking that drives all of Guy Davenport&rsquo;s work. As a critic, he takes on topics such as Ruskin&rsquo;s life and influences and Benson Bobrick&rsquo;s history of English versions of the Bible, through which Davenport explores how translation has affected the text&rsquo;s interpretation for centuries. Both his fiction and essays contribute to the eternal conversation on how the arts reflect, inform, and influence the human experience. In his short stories, Davenport vividly evokes entire worlds&mdash;such as that of a regatta on the Thames or an air show in Northern Italy&mdash;with an eye for telling details that typically go unnoticed. Fact and fiction combine and shift forms throughout the collection, for instance, in &ldquo;The Concord Sonata&rdquo; when the author manipulates time and space to put thinkers like Thoreau, Wittgenstein, and W. E. B. Du Bois in conversation. Davenport&rsquo;s uninhibited imagination and singular gaze reveal both the commonplace and the sublime in a new light. </div>

The Death of Picasso

<div>Guy Davenport demonstrates his unparalleled critical vision as he interprets art, literature, and culture In this collection of 20 essays, Guy Davenport applies his insightful gaze and critical wisdom to topics including modern art and the effects of the automobile on contemporary society. His work ranges from &ldquo;What Are Those Monkeys Doing?&rdquo; in which he links the paintings of Rousseau to the writings of Rimbaud and Flaubert, to &ldquo;Imaginary Americas,&rdquo; a survey of the different roles America has filled in the imagination of Europeans. Davenport, 1 of the foremost American critics and intellectuals of the 20th century, brings his piercing intellect, encyclopedic references, and careful eye for detail to each piece in Every Force Evolves a Form. Whether writing on the philosophy behind modernism or a study of table manners, the paintings of Henri Rousseau or the design of Shaker handicrafts, Davenport always devotes his full attention and multi-angled analysis to the subject at hand. To read this thought-provoking collection is to see the inner-workings of Davenport&rsquo;s brilliant mind, with its varied fascinations and unparalleled insights. </div>

Every Force Evolves a Form

<div>Guy Davenport&rsquo;s cerebral and innovative stories intricately assemble centuries&rsquo; worth of images and ideas Guy Davenport&rsquo;s stories seamlessly illuminate his vast knowledge of theology, philosophy, botany, and art, in his singular style of finding harmony in the juxtaposition of different themes. Whether critiquing the politics of socialist realist art in &ldquo;We Often Think of Lenin at the Clothespin Factory,&rdquo; revisiting biblical tales in &ldquo;Jonah,&rdquo; or depicting an ancient Greek philosopher in &ldquo;The Meadow,&rdquo; Davenport demonstrates his talent for blending high-minded ideas with literary wit. Davenport&rsquo;s writing is at its most confident when the author weaves between time periods and ideas, such as when he revisits Descartes through the eyes of an ancient Greek skeptic in &ldquo;Pyrrhon of Elis,&rdquo; wherein a doubting philosopher declares, &ldquo;I may not be, I think&rdquo;; or in &ldquo;The Bicycle Rider,&rdquo; in which a doctoral student studying imagery of demons in the Gospels is visited by angelic spirits and attempts to save the life of a nihilistic prostitute. In these stories and the others collected in The Jules Verne Steam Balloon, Davenport&rsquo;s signature approach to culture and humanity is on bold display. </div>

Guy Davenport
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Books By Guy Davenport (5 Books)

Eclogues

Apples and Pears

The Death of Picasso

Every Force Evolves a Form

The Jules Verne Steam Balloon

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© 2024 OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA

Guy DavenportFollow this author

Books By Guy Davenport (5 Books)

Eclogues

Apples and Pears

The Death of Picasso

Every Force Evolves a Form

The Jules Verne Steam Balloon

RELATED POSTS ABOUT GUY DAVENPORT

Get weekly updates and deals from Early Bird Books

More from

Corporate

© 2024 OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA

Guy Davenport
Follow this author