Description
Book SynopsisThe Analyst's Ear and the Critic's Eye is the first volume of literary criticism to be co-authored by a practicing psychoanalyst and a literary critic. The result of this unique collaboration is a lively conversation that not only demonstrates what is most fundamental to each discipline, but creates a joint perspective on reading literature that neither discipline alone can achieve.
This book radically redefines the relationship between psychoanalysis and literary studies in a way that revitalizes the conversation between the two fields. This is achieved, in part, by providing richly textured descriptions of analytic work. These clinical illustrations bring to life the intersubjective dimension of analytic practice, which is integral to the book's original conception of psychoanalytic literary criticism. In their readings of seminal works of American and European literature, the authors address questions that are fundamental to psychoanalysis, literary studies, and the futu
Trade Review
"What does it mean to read? The Analyst’s Ear and the Critic’s Eye is a book that is probably best read backwards. Full versions or extended extracts of previously published essays on Kafka, Frost, and Philip Roth are reprinted in the appendices, and I think it helps to start with these essays before turning to the three main chapters. It would be a mistake to take the appended texts as read and, therefore, to ignore the context in which they are being re-read. In a book that is primarily concerned with engaged reading, where the interpellation of the individual as a reader may be seen as the main criterion of the book’s achievement, it is important for readers to participate actively in the reading experience."- Steven Groarke, The International Journal of Psychoanalysis
"This book represents cutting edge work that will be of interest to psychoanalytic and literary critics. It will be of interest to literary scholars and those applying psychoanalysis to literature."- Ronald N.Turco, Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 2014
“The premise of the book is that aspects of psychoanalytic listening and reading can uniquely enhance literary criticism and, secondarily, that psychoanalysts can enhance their literary readings by knowing what academics do.” -Ellen Handler Spitz, PhD, Writer, Lecturer, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Table of ContentsThe Analyst's Ear. How the Analyst Thinks. The Critic's Eye.
