Gifts for Mankind. Venus in a masculine Guise, from André Gide.

André Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 “for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings, in which human problems and conditions have been presented with a fearless love of truth and keen psychological insight.” He also wrote the first gay novel ever published. In his outstanding biography, ANDRĖ GIDE.…

Gifts for Mankind. Venus at her Most Fashionable – from Yves Saint Laurent.

I recently watched a documentary on Yves Saint Laurent and wondered why he seemed ‘not present’. Surely the French fashion designer who is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century should not be so ‘absent’ when his models are on the catwalk? Then I discovered that he abused both alcohol and…

The Hero with Joseph Campbell’s Face.

Joseph John Campbell was an American professor of literature who also studied and worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His best-known work is his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero shared by world mythologies, termed the monomyth. He is most famous for his quote, “Follow your bliss”, which could be…

Learning Ad Infinitum.  Boccaccio.

Together with Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio is part of the so-called “Three Crowns” of Italian Renaissance Literature and Poetry. Their works initiated the dramatic change western civilisation was about to undergo. They revolutionised literature even before the development of the printing press. Boccaccio is best known for The Decameron. Together with his contemporary friend and…

Jupiter at his literary best. Lawrence Durrell.

Lawrence Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist and travel writer. Although he never won the Nobel Prize for Literature – his books were considered too ‘heterodox’ – by the end of the 20th century, he was a bestselling author and one of the most celebrated writers in English. The great French writer Gustav Flaubert said: “Language is…

Gifts for Mankind. Existentialism from Jean-Paul Sartre.

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer and literary critic. He was one of the key figures in the philosophy of Existentialism. After WW2, he became a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. His work has also influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory and literary studies. To this day, his influence in these disciplines continues. Sartre was also noted for his open relationship with Simone de Beauvoir…

Gifts for Mankind: AntiNaziism from Nietzsche

The German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, was also a cultural critic, poet and philologist. His body of work had a profound influence on modern intellectual history and consequently on human consciousness, covering a wide range of topics, including art, philology, history, religion, tragedy, culture and science Unfortunately his achievements were marred by his sister Elisabeth (and…