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Bataille's Battle With Genet

Bataille's Battle With Genet Contrary to popular belief, the review of the first two volumes of Genet’s Collected Works and The Thief’s Journal that Georges Bataille published in Critique in 1952 and that later became the last chapter of Literature and Evil was not Bataille’s first text on the other author. The first reflection of an interest in Genet dates back to 1949, to an article entitled ‘On The Sacred Character Of Criminals’.1 In response to Fran¸ ois Mauriac’s article ‘Le cas Jean Genet’2 (‘The Case c of Jean Genet’), Bataille took it upon himself to defend the author of Deathwatch, thus aligning himself with the few critics who had praised the play. The word ‘defend’ may be surprising in light of the out of hand condemnation of the subsequent article, whose severity guaranteed it considerable critical attention: Genet, the writer, has neither the power to communicate with his readers nor the intention of doing so. His work almost denies the reader. Sartre saw, though he drew no conclusions, that, in these conditions, the work was incomplete. It was a replacement, half way from the major communication at which literature aims.3 The chasm between this attack by a critic who for once http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Paragraph Edinburgh University Press

Bataille's Battle With Genet

Paragraph , Volume 27 (2): 130 – Jul 1, 2004

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press
ISSN
0264-8334
eISSN
1750-0176
DOI
10.3366/para.2004.27.2.130
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Contrary to popular belief, the review of the first two volumes of Genet’s Collected Works and The Thief’s Journal that Georges Bataille published in Critique in 1952 and that later became the last chapter of Literature and Evil was not Bataille’s first text on the other author. The first reflection of an interest in Genet dates back to 1949, to an article entitled ‘On The Sacred Character Of Criminals’.1 In response to Fran¸ ois Mauriac’s article ‘Le cas Jean Genet’2 (‘The Case c of Jean Genet’), Bataille took it upon himself to defend the author of Deathwatch, thus aligning himself with the few critics who had praised the play. The word ‘defend’ may be surprising in light of the out of hand condemnation of the subsequent article, whose severity guaranteed it considerable critical attention: Genet, the writer, has neither the power to communicate with his readers nor the intention of doing so. His work almost denies the reader. Sartre saw, though he drew no conclusions, that, in these conditions, the work was incomplete. It was a replacement, half way from the major communication at which literature aims.3 The chasm between this attack by a critic who for once

Journal

ParagraphEdinburgh University Press

Published: Jul 1, 2004

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