Kazantzakis, Volume 1 : Politics of the Spirit / Peter Bien.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bien, Peter, author.

Series:

Princeton Modern Greek Studies

Princeton Modern Greek Studies ; 26

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kazantzakis, Nikos, 1883-1957--Political and social views.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (659 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2012]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"No author who lives in Greece," writes Peter Bien, "can avoid politics." This first volume of his major intellectual biography of Nikos Kazantzakis approaches the distinguished--and controversial--writer by describing his struggle with political questions that were in reality aspects of a fervent religious search. Beginning with Kazantzakis's early career in fin-de-siècle Paris and his discovery of William James, Nietzsche, and Bergson, the book continues by describing his experiments with communism in turbulent Greece, his visits to Soviet Russia, and the publication of his epic Odyssey in 1938. Bien demonstrates that politics and religion cannot be separated in Kazantzakis's development. His major concern was personal salvation, but the method he employed to win that salvation was political engagement. Did deliverance lie in nationalism? Communism? Fascism? He eventually rejected each of these possible solutions as morally appalling. Abused by both left and right, he insisted on an "eschatological politics" of spiritual fulfillment. This compelling biography will be essential reading for Kazantzakis scholars and for a wide audience of those who already admire the Greek author's work. In addition, it will provide an introduction to the first three decades of Kazantzakis's career for those who have yet to enjoy such passionate and stirring novels as Zorba the Greek, The Greek Passion, and The Last Temptation of Christ. This first volume provides an introduction to the initial three decades of Kazantzakis's career for those who have enjoyed such vibrant and stirring novels as Zorba the Greek, The Greek Passion, and The Last Temptation of Christ.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface to the paperback edition

Preface

A note on documentation and transliteration

List of works

Chronology

Chapter One. Why Kazantzakis is not a political writer

Chapter Two. Philosophical studies in Paris

Chapter Three. Development of Kazantzakis's (meta-)communism

Chapter Four. The Iráklion incident and the Odyssey's first draft

Chapter Five. Russia

Chapter Six. Toda-Raba and the waning of Kazantzakis's communism

Chapter Seven. Aesthetic freedom

Chapter Eight. Odyssey

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9781400824410

1400824419

OCLC:

850193803