Foucault / Blanchot: Maurice Blanchot: The Thought from Outside and Michel Foucault as I Imagine Him (Paperback)

~ (Author), Maurice Blanchot (Author), Jeffrey Mehlman (Translator), Brian Massumi (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"In the first of this book's two dense essays, Foucault links the neutral space of Blanchot's fiction to a line of thought extending from de Sade to Artaud, Nietzsche and Bataille. . . . In the second essay, Blanchot mines Foucault's excavation of the social practices underpinning prisons, the courts and the medical establishment," reported PW .
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Product Description

In these two essays, two of the most important French thinkers of our time reflect on each other's work. In so doing, novelist/essayist Maurice Blanchot and philosopher Michel Foucault develop a new perspective on the relationship between subjectivity, fiction, and the will to truth. The two texts present reflections on writing, language, and representation which question the status of the author/subject and explore the notion of a "neutral" voice that arises from the realm of the "outside." This book is crucial not only to an understanding of these two thinkers, but also to any overview of recent French thought. Michel Foucault (1927-1984) was the holder of a chair at the College de France. Among his works are Madness and Civilization, The Order of Things, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality Maurice Blanchot, born in 1907, is a novelist and critic. His works include Death Sentence, Thomas the Obscure, and The Space of Literature.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 109 pages
• Publisher: Zone Books (October 19, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942299035
• ISBN-13: 978-0942299038
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #594,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Examination of the Space of the Writer, January 2, 2000

By A Customer

Any fan of Foucault or Blanchot should greatly appreciate these two short homages. Maurice Blanchot was originaly a literary critic who later wrote fictions, philosophical essays, and unusual hybrids of the two. A contemporary and friend of Levinas, his work has had a huge impact on post WWII literature and continental philosophy. With astonishingly articulate language (as translated by Massumi), Foucault offers both a insightful commentary on Blanchot and an idea of what means to exit in the space of writing fiction. It is difficult to categorize Foucaults writing;perphaps he is best known as a writer who encouraged a modified (archealogical) method of examining history, and using this method prolifically wrote social/cultural/philosophical commentary. Blanchot writes on Foucaults writing with clarity and appreciation. If you are unfamiliar with these authors, this book makes for a good introduction; these writers may change the way you think, and you should read more. If you know these authors then you should definitely sympathize with the homage aspect: it's a great quick read (though you will probably need to read the layered language five times, and again late in life.)