Literature and Politics Selected Writings

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

"Politics is will and not truth. A very primitive formulation, but rich in consequences."

Robert Musil was keenly aware of literature's vulnerability to what he called "the over-reach and encroachment of politics", but he was also an acute observer of the ways in which literature and politics interact. Literature and Politics presents Musil's writings on the relationship between literature and politics from World War I through World War II and elucidates his personal struggle to bear witness during the Age of Totalitarianism.

In essays, addresses, aphorisms, and unpublished notes on current events, Musil charted the increasing dangers posed to artists and intellectuals by projects of ideological conscription, as well as the broader threats posed by nationalism and other extreme forms of collectivism. His political thinking was unfailingly supple and nuanced, but at its heart was a passionate belief in the rich and irreducible nature of individual creative work as the bulwark of a free, ethical, and pluralistic society. The main texts are translated by Genese Grill and Klaus Amann provides an invaluable Introduction to Musil's political thought, while Philip Payne introduces Musil's "On Stupidity" (which he has also translated into English).

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781916809611
Published: July 2025

Number of pages: 564
Width: 132 mm
Height: 231 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: ERIS