In the Realms of the Unreal: Insane Writings [Hardcover]

John G. H. Oakes (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1991

In the Realms of the Unreal: "Insane" Writings Edited by John G. H. Oakes. Foreword by Kurt Vonnegut. "This is what poetic expression is all about."-Library Journal. "Demanding but mind-expanding reading."-Publishers Weekly ISBN 0-941423-57-3

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the introduction to this startling collection of "insane writings," Kurt Vonnegut makes the point that " creative people have thoughts unlike those of the general population." He adds that talent in writing must accompany those thoughts, as they do in these brilliant poems, essays, and stories by unique individuals who have been "culled" by society and who exist in institutions or under the label of "insane." From wordplay such as that of the Language poets to speculation on the meaning of life and chance, expression of alternative visions by previously unheard and unpublished writers makes the collection mind-expanding and very real.

From Publishers Weekly

In presenting these writings--all by individuals institutionalized for insanity--"for their intrinsic worth" rather than as "clues to someone's 'illness,' " the editors (Oakes is copublisher of Four Walls and Kennison is a freelance editor) take a bold step. They require readers to respond to these poems and prose pieces, written over the last 100 years in various countries, without assimilating them as aberrations. Given the profoundly strange uses of language that characterize most of them, the works make for demanding but mind-expanding reading. German Gustav Sievers's extraordinary essay conflates race and geography through profuse punning. The Black Sea, he explains, "linguistically lacked only an nstet roman on the end of Sea ( See ), in order to make the Blacks see ." Swiss writer Jules Doudin revels in Joycean variant spellings: "Ide bee blyged iff yoo cood spair a pockit hanker cheef." Doudin's translator, however, renders the work of Frenchman Sylvain Lecocq in suspiciously similar language. For two writers from different countries and times (Doudin wrote in 1927 and Lecocq in 1949) to share so idiosyncratic a style seems unlikely, and one wonders if this is not an instance of the assimilation the editors set out to avoid. Nonetheless, these documents provide a fascinating study of language's slippery relation to reality.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Pr; 1st edition (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941423522
• ISBN-13: 978-0941423526
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,702,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant insanity, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Realms of the Unreal: Insane Writings (Hardcover)

Glimpses into the mind and souls of schizophrenics, who try and explain their realities through poetry. The absolute honesty of their position is startling, many of them stand firmly in their beliefs, while others do not know what is real and what is not. Some of the insanity starts to make sense as the reader is drawn into the thoughts of the authors.