Against Interpretation and Other Essays 
This edition has a new afterword, "Thirty Years Later," in which Sontag restates the terms of her battle against philistinism and against ethical shallowness and indifference.
None of us can ever retrieve that innocence before all theory when art knew no need to justify itself, when one did not ask of a work of art what it said because one knew what it did. From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task of defending art.I ended up finding 'Against Interpretation' useful. Its central claim is that there is a kind of interpretation that is anti-art in that it diminishes the possibilities for appreciating/enjoying/experiencing the art rather than
Against Interpretation and Other Essays, Susan SontagAgainst Interpretation is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag published in 1966. It includes some of Sontag's best-known works, including "On Style," and the eponymous essay "Against Interpretation." In the last, Sontag argues that in the new approach to aesthetics the spiritual importance of art is being replaced by the emphasis on the intellect. Rather than recognizing great creative works as possible sources of energy, she argues,

I was interested in a couple of the larger essays in this collection (like "Against Interpretation" and "On Style") but I couldn't enjoy most of the essays simply because they were about movies or books or authors of which/whom I knew nothing...Sontag's writing in this book is very serious, very intellectual. This sometimes leads to awkward, polysyllabic, obtuse sentences such as, "In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art." (This sounds very important, indeed, but I'm not sure what
late one night when i was tucking myself into bed, feeling quite tired, i didn't want to sleep so i picked up this book which was the closest one to my bed and read the first essay, then the second, and over a whole month, these essays became a kind of dessert that i would treat myself to after a boring day at work, and it has been very refreshing to be able to comprehend susan sontag in comparison to the boring dense as hell texts i thought i would try at home but gave up on. like other
The famous essay on camp is in this edition as well as wonderful essays on Godard and Beckett. Sontag was an amazing essayist, a really great cultural critic. A walking and breathing treasure of knowledge and clear thinking. One would think she would have loved Goodreads -- but then maybe not. For sure she would be arguing with everyone on this site. What fun!But seriously even if one disagrees with her work, she is important just for her taste in literature among other things.
When Im reading a writer who speaks to me Ill often share quotes that jump out off the pages, and I did that a few times reading AGAINST INTERPRETATION AND OTHER ESSAYS by Susan Sontag. Usually, those quotes are well-received, but not Sontags. Friends dismissed her as second-rate cribbing off of better minds, where I saw a dialogue. But, whatever, this was the first of her works Ive read, and her first published collection, and I really enjoyed being in her mind for 300 pages. She mostly dives
Susan Sontag
Paperback | Pages: 312 pages Rating: 4.13 | 6030 Users | 254 Reviews

Itemize Books To Against Interpretation and Other Essays
| Original Title: | Against Interpretation and Other Essays |
| ISBN: | 0312280866 (ISBN13: 9780312280864) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | National Book Award Finalist for Arts and Letters (1967) |
Chronicle Concering Books Against Interpretation and Other Essays
Against Interpretation was Susan Sontag's first collection of essays and is a modern classic. Originally published in 1966, it has never gone out of print and has influenced generations of readers all over the world. It includes the famous essays "Notes on Camp" and "Against Interpretation," as well as her impassioned discussions of Sartre, Camus, Simone Weil, Godard, Beckett, Lévi-Strauss, science-fiction movies, psychoanalysis, and contemporary religious thought.This edition has a new afterword, "Thirty Years Later," in which Sontag restates the terms of her battle against philistinism and against ethical shallowness and indifference.
Declare Of Books Against Interpretation and Other Essays
| Title | : | Against Interpretation and Other Essays |
| Author | : | Susan Sontag |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 312 pages |
| Published | : | August 25th 2001 by Picador (first published 1966) |
| Categories | : | Writing. Essays. Nonfiction. Philosophy. Art. Criticism. Theory |
Rating Of Books Against Interpretation and Other Essays
Ratings: 4.13 From 6030 Users | 254 ReviewsPiece Of Books Against Interpretation and Other Essays
Jerking off the universe is perhaps what all philosophy, all abstract thought is about: am intense, and not very sociable pleasure, which has to be repeated again and again. That's Ms. Sontag on Genet, in lieu of discussing Sartre's Saint Genet. I find it an amazing analogy for thinking and I'm curious what Heidegger would have thought of the affront? There are attendant opportunities which have to be ignored. Yet it lingers and I contemplate.Against Interpretation was Sontag's first collectionNone of us can ever retrieve that innocence before all theory when art knew no need to justify itself, when one did not ask of a work of art what it said because one knew what it did. From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task of defending art.I ended up finding 'Against Interpretation' useful. Its central claim is that there is a kind of interpretation that is anti-art in that it diminishes the possibilities for appreciating/enjoying/experiencing the art rather than
Against Interpretation and Other Essays, Susan SontagAgainst Interpretation is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag published in 1966. It includes some of Sontag's best-known works, including "On Style," and the eponymous essay "Against Interpretation." In the last, Sontag argues that in the new approach to aesthetics the spiritual importance of art is being replaced by the emphasis on the intellect. Rather than recognizing great creative works as possible sources of energy, she argues,

I was interested in a couple of the larger essays in this collection (like "Against Interpretation" and "On Style") but I couldn't enjoy most of the essays simply because they were about movies or books or authors of which/whom I knew nothing...Sontag's writing in this book is very serious, very intellectual. This sometimes leads to awkward, polysyllabic, obtuse sentences such as, "In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art." (This sounds very important, indeed, but I'm not sure what
late one night when i was tucking myself into bed, feeling quite tired, i didn't want to sleep so i picked up this book which was the closest one to my bed and read the first essay, then the second, and over a whole month, these essays became a kind of dessert that i would treat myself to after a boring day at work, and it has been very refreshing to be able to comprehend susan sontag in comparison to the boring dense as hell texts i thought i would try at home but gave up on. like other
The famous essay on camp is in this edition as well as wonderful essays on Godard and Beckett. Sontag was an amazing essayist, a really great cultural critic. A walking and breathing treasure of knowledge and clear thinking. One would think she would have loved Goodreads -- but then maybe not. For sure she would be arguing with everyone on this site. What fun!But seriously even if one disagrees with her work, she is important just for her taste in literature among other things.
When Im reading a writer who speaks to me Ill often share quotes that jump out off the pages, and I did that a few times reading AGAINST INTERPRETATION AND OTHER ESSAYS by Susan Sontag. Usually, those quotes are well-received, but not Sontags. Friends dismissed her as second-rate cribbing off of better minds, where I saw a dialogue. But, whatever, this was the first of her works Ive read, and her first published collection, and I really enjoyed being in her mind for 300 pages. She mostly dives


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