Alter Ego: The Critical Writings of Michel Leiris (Legenda, Research Monographs in French Studies, 17)

Description

Alter Ego is the first monograph in English on the critical writings of Michel Leiris (1901-90). A groundbreaking autobiographer and pioneering ethnographer, Leiris also produced important criticism on art, opera, jazz and literature, which acts as a key commentary on twentieth-century intellectual movements and demonstrates vividly the constant refashioning and reformulation of contemporary ideas and aesthetics. Hand defines and situates Leiris's core themes, analyses his criticism in each of the art areas examined, and delineates the model that emerges of a contrapuntal and heterogeneous critical identity. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Perceiving Presence: Leiris and Visual Art 2 Breaking the Sound Barrier: Leiris and Music The Jazz Age Americans in Paris Rejecting Civilization Ethnomusicology and André Schaeffher From Jazz to Opera René Leibowitz Operratiques Turandot Constant Lambert The Matrix of Death 3 Reading Rules: Leiris and Literature Revolution and Renewal: Leiris and Surrealism The Coincidence of Contraries: Leiris and Documents Dépassement perpétuel: Leiris and Existentialism Conception and Reality: Leiris and Raymond Roussel Conclusion: Being-with-Leiris Bibliography Index