Antonin Artaud and the Healing Practices of Language: How Life Matters in Artauds Later Writings

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The life of Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) was tormented by physical and mental illnesses. Already in his earlier works, Artaud tried to express his physical and mental suffering, but perceived, in describing his feelings, the obstructive and illness-inducing role of language. This is the first book written in English that analyses the role of a healing language with which Artaud engaged in his later writings. Joeri Visser guides us through the years in which Artaud suffered increasingly from mental instability and considered the act of writing his only means of survival. In doing so, Visser unfolds a literary and a philosophical analysis of how language and life work together and how a creative play with language can help us to reengage sustainably with the joyous as well as the terrible forces of life.

Reviews

Vissers Deleuzian reading of Artauds late writings comes as a revelation. What might seem a madmans ravings prove in Vissers analysis to be profound meditations on the power of language to foster genuine thought and generate new relations between humans and the natural world. Visser argues that Artaud deploys a 'zoological language,' one that engages the life of zoe and thereby makes possible what Deleuze calls 'belief in this world.' This is an insightful, compelling and original study of signal importance. * Ronald Bogue, Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia, USA *
Visser's analysis of Artaud's religious preoccupations is a highly original, against-the-grain and even perverse one - and all the more persuasive and valuable for that. * Stephen Barber, Professor of Art History, Kingston University, UK, and author of of Antonin Artaud: Blows and Bombs and translator of A Sinister Assassin: Artaud's Last Writings *
This original study opens illuminating perspectives on the life and work of the iconic yet controversial figure of Artaud. Adopting a materialist approach inspired by an affirmative ethics of becoming, Visser undoes the pathological readings of Artauds life and literature and contextualizes it within the fundamentally schizophrenic structure of capitalism. With emphasis on the concepts of immanence and vital matter, this remarkable book invites us to rediscover the infinite capacities of embodied subjects to recompose an active and joyous life, even through pain. A welcome antidote against the hardship and negativity of our times. * Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished University Professor, Utrecht University, the Netherlands *

Author Bio

Joeri Visser is an independent researcher who writes on French philosophy, literature and religion. He has been a lecturer at Utrecht University where he also obtained a PhD on Antonin Artaud. He has furthermore published translations of articles from Michel Serres.