This timely collection of essays is the first to be written on the work of Maurice Blanchot in English. One of the finest writers of our time, Blanchot is a contemporary of Bataille and Levinas; his writing has influenced the likes of Derrida and Foucault.
Eminent commentators featured here include: Simon Critchley, Paul Davies, Cristopher Fynsk, Rodolphe Gasche, Leslie Hill, Michael Holland, Jeffery Mehlman, Roger Laporte, Ian Maclachlan, Marie-Claire Ropars-Wuilleumier, Gillian Rose and Ann Smock.
The essays consider the political implications of Blanchot's questioning the relationship between philosophy and literature. In addition, the provocative issue of Blanchot's politics during the 1930s is clarified by a letter from Blanchot to one of the contributors, published here for the first time.
Maurice Blanchot: The Demand of Writing is a crucial selection for all students of philosophy, literature or French studies.

This timely collection of essays is the first to be written on the work of Maurice Blanchot in English. One of the finest writers of our time, Blanchot is a contemporary of Bataille and Levinas; his writing has influenced the likes of Derrida and Foucault.
Eminent commentators featured here include: Simon Critchley, Paul Davies, Cristopher Fynsk, Rodolphe Gasche, Leslie Hill, Michael Holland, Jeffery Mehlman, Roger Laporte, Ian Maclachlan, Marie-Claire Ropars-Wuilleumier, Gillian Rose and Ann Smock.
The essays consider the political implications of Blanchot's questioning the relationship between philosophy and literature. In addition, the provocative issue of Blanchot's politics during the 1930s is clarified by a letter from Blanchot to one of the contributors, published here for the first time.
Maurice Blanchot: The Demand of Writing is a crucial selection for all students of philosophy, literature or French studies.

Georges Bataille's powerful writings have fascinated many readers, enmeshed as they are with the themes of sex and death. His emotive discourse of excess, transgression, sacrifice, and the sacred has had a profound and notable influence on thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida and Kristeva. Bataille: Writing the Sacred examines the continuing power and influence of his work.
The full extent of Bataille's subversive and influential writings has only been made available to an English-speaking audience in recent years. By bringing together international specialists on Bataille from philosophy and literature to art history, this collection is able to explore the many facets of his writings.

Georges Bataille's powerful writings, with their focus on themes of sex and death, have fascinated many readers. Bataille's emotive discourse of excess, transgression, sacrifice and the sacred has had a profound influence on thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida and Kristeva. "Bataille" examines the continuing power and influence of his work.
Drawing from a number of perspectives and a range of disciplines, the collection centers around Bataille's concept of a radical, subversive negativity--what Bataille called the sacred. The essays examine the central role of writing in his work and address issues relevant to current theoretical debates such as the critique of subjectivity, the relationship between representation, meaning and a particular theory of language, and the nature of community.
The full extent of Bataille's subversive and influential writings have only been made available to an English-speaking audience in recent years. This collection explores the many facets of his writings by bringing together a group of international experts on Bataille in fields ranging from philosophy and literature to art history.
Contributors: Geoffrey Bennington, Jean-Michel Besnier, Leslie Anne Boldt-Irons, Briony Fer, Denis Hollier, Marie-Christine Lala, John Lechte, Miche'le Richman, Alphonso Lingis, Allan Stoekl, Susan R. Suleiman, Sarah Wilson.