{"product_id":"the-preparation-of-the-novel-lecture-courses-and-seminars-at-the-collge-de-france-19781979-and-19791980-european-perspectives-a-series-in-social-thought-cultural-criticism-paperback-9780231136150","title":"The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the Collge de France (1978-1979 and 1979-1980) (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought \u0026 Cultural Criticism (Paperback))","description":"\u003cp\u003eCompleted just weeks before his death  the lectures in this volume mark a critical juncture in the career of Roland Barthes  in which he declared the intention  deeply felt  to write a novel. Unfolding over the course of two years  Barthes engaged in a unique pedagogical experiment: he combined teaching and writing to \"simulate\" the trial of novel-writing  exploring every step of the creative process along the way.  Barthess lectures move from the desire to write to the actual decision making  planning  and material act of producing a novel. He meets the difficulty of transitioning from short  concise notations (exemplified by his favorite literary form  haiku) to longer  uninterrupted flows of narrative  and he encounters a number of setbacks. Barthes takes solace in a diverse group of writers  including Dante  whose La Vita Nuova was similarly inspired by the death of a loved one  and he turns to classical philosophy  Taoism  and the works of Franois-Ren Chateaubriand  Gustave Flaubert  Franz Kafka  and Marcel Proust.  This book uniquely includes eight elliptical plans for Barthess unwritten novel  which he titled Vita Nova  and lecture notes that sketch the critics views on photography. Following on The Neutral: Lecture Course at the Collge de France (1977-1978) and a third forthcoming collection of Barthes lectures  this volume provides an intensely personal account of the labor and love of writing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45665847574581,"sku":"ByrdShop_0231136153","price":76.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780231136150.jpg?v=1782410068","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-preparation-of-the-novel-lecture-courses-and-seminars-at-the-collge-de-france-19781979-and-19791980-european-perspectives-a-series-in-social-thought-cultural-criticism-paperback-9780231136150","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}