
Pleasure and Change
The Aesthetics of Canon
Frank Kermode(Author)
Robert Alter(Editor)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 13. July 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
112 pages
978-0-19-530935-5 (ISBN)
Description
The question of the canon has been the subject of debate in academic circles for over fifteen years. Pleasure and Change contains two lectures on this important subject by the distinguished literary critic Sir Frank Kermode. In essays that were originally delivered as Tanner Lectures at Berkeley in November of 2001, Kermode reinterprets the question of canon formation in light of two related and central notions: pleasure and change. He asks how aesthetic pleasure informs what we find valuable, and how this perception changes over time. Kermode also explores the role of chance, observing the connections between canon formation and unintentional and sometimes even random circumstance. Geoffrey Hartmann (Yale University), John Guillory (New York University), and Carey Perloff (director of the American Conservatory Theatre) offer incisive comments on these essays, to which Kermode responds in a lively rejoinder. The volume begins with a helpful introduction by Robert Alter. The result is a stimulating and accessible discussion of a highly significant cultural debate.
Reviews / Votes
"A refreshing departure from the nasty academic jousting that often passes for a debate about the canon.... [Kermode's] reasoned advocacy is a reminder why literature and criticism are equipment for living."--BookforumMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
152 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-530935-5 (9780195309355)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2004
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€17.49
Available for download

E-Book
08/2004
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€13.49
Available for download
Persons
Sir Frank Kermode is Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge.
Author
ProfessorProfessor, University of Cambridge (Emeritus)
Editor
Professor of Hebrew and Comparative LiteratureProfessor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley
Content
PLEASURE AND CHANGE; COMMENTS; REPLY TO COMMENTATORS