Description
Book SynopsisBoethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy as a prisoner condemned to death for treason, circumstances that are reflected in the themes and concerns of its evocative poetry and dialogue between the prisoner and his mentor, Lady Philosophy. This classic philosophical statement of late antiquity has had an enduring influence on Western thought. It
Trade ReviewHonorable Mention for the 2015 Rene Wellek Prize, American Comparative Literature Association "[A] revelatory study... Zim's close readings of these in-tandem texts bear haunting witness to enduring conditions in the world that ought not to be but unfathomably are, despite all the vociferous protestations that decry inhumane treatment of the other."--Choice "This book clearly demonstrates the profundity of much writing from prison and is packed full of fascinating and, in my experience, accurate observations. Every prison chaplain ought to have this book on his or her shelf."--Terry Waite, Church Times
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I. In Defense of Civilization 19 1. The Disciplines of Reason and Lyric Poetry 21 Anicius Boethius, Of the Consolation of Philosophy (ca. 524-25): The Foundations of Resistance in Dialogue and Lyric 21 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (1943-45): Christian Ethics and Lyric 47 2. Creative Dialogues with Textual Partners, Past and Present 79 Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation: A Political Guide to the Dilemmas of Religious Conscience (1534-35) 80 Antonio Gramsci, Prison Letters (1926-37): Dialogue in Dialectic 104 Part II. Preservation of Self 119 3. Memory and Self-Justification: Images of Grace and Disgrace Abounding 121 John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666): Writing the Eternally Present Self 124 Oscar Wilde, De Profundis (1897): A Pastoral Letter of Disgrace Abounding 142 4. Memorial Narratives as Salvation for the Feminine Self 166 Marie-Jeanne Roland, Memoirs (1793): Writing History Herself 169 Anne Frank, The Diary and Tales from the Secret Annexe (1942-44): Life Writing 191 5. The Consolations of Imagination and Lyric Poetry 213 Jean Cassou, Trente-trois sonnets composes au secret / 33 Sonnets of the Resistance (1943): Preserving the Liberty of a Poet 214 Irina Ratushinskaya, Pencil Letter and No, I'm Not Afraid (1982-86): Preserving the Life of a Poet 241 Part III. Testimony for Mankind 265 6. With Hindsight and Beyond Resistance 267 Primo Levi, If This Is a Man (1947) and Ad ora incerta (1947-86): Resisting the Demolition of a Man 267 Primo Levi, Moments of Reprieve (1981): In Defense of Civilization 291 Conclusion: Beyond Testimony 302 Select Bibliography 311 Index 319
