I believe that John Strachey cited Lawrence as an exemplar of the "fascist unconscious", which I think is correct.
In any case, Eagleton's futile exercise reminds me of how CLR James' ridiculed Sartre's conception of engaged literature in the late '40s / early '50s. Inter alia, James wrote that he didn't care about what political party an author belonged to; what mattered was the tacit assumptions embodied in the work itself. Of course, he was opposed to Popular Front historiography and Popular Front cultural criticism. On 11/29/2010 7:14 PM, Mason Akhnaten wrote: > What does one want to focus on..."the absence of genuinely > revolutionary art", or that only radical conservatism "could produce > the most significant literature"... > > Words like "genuinely" complicate the matter to no end. > So perhaps concentrate on "the most significant literature"--and I > think there are plenty of works of worldwide significance that > certainly are not produced by radical conservatism. > > Yes, Brecht of course... > I think Louis mentioned the surrealists and their milieu. I would > think Lorca is agreed upon as one of the preeminent dramatists of 20th > century Spain, and it would be improper to call him a conservative. > It actually looks like many of the significant figures in 20th century > theatre were not politically conservative--I would hope GB Shaw's > image hasn't suffered in the academy, and then you have Harold Pinter > more recently. It isn't that these playwrights must be 'genuinely > revolutionary', the fact they are not conservative weakens Eagleton's > claim. > > You can't really throw Upton Sinclair in there...seems doubtful than > anyone would agree upon the man as one of the most significant in > literature. If you do, may as well throw in Richard Wright or any > number of second-rate literary figures. Obviously Orwell and Huxley do > not have the same stature as Lawrence or Joyce, but their works are > widely read and their works are often listed among the best of the > century--and no one would call either of these men politically > conservative. > Perhaps the easiest thing to do would be look at one of those "critics > list of most significant authors" and look at trends between academic > popularity and political attitude. > > So, there may be some exceptions to Eagleton's sweeping statement, but > a couple that have been named (Brecht and Lorca) are notable for the > historical circumstances surrounding their development as authors. So > perhaps a look at notable exceptions--and if there are trends amongst > these exceptions--would be fruitful. > > [also, some of Pound's poetic works celebrate fascism- The Pisan > Cantos, for example. it is not simply restricted to some speeches on > Mussolini] > > On 11/29/10, c b<cb31...@gmail.com> wrote: >> M.F. Kalfat mf at kalfat.net >> >> >> In *Marxism and Literary Criticism*, Eagleton concludes a section entitled >> "Base and Superstructure" in chapter one, "Literature and History" with >> this: >> >> Whether those insights are in political terms ‘progressive’ or ‘reactionary’ >> (Conrad's are certainly the latter) is not the point – any more than it is >> to the point that most of the agreed major writers of the twentieth century >> – Yeats, Eliot, Pound, Lawrence – are political conservatives who each had >> truck with fascism. Marxist criticism, rather than apologising for that >> fact, explains it – sees that, *in the absence of genuinely revolutionary >> art*, only a radical conservativism, hostile like Marxism to the withered >> values of liberal bourgeois society, could produce the most significant >> literature. [emphasis added] >> >> >> Is it a case of total "absence"? Is it inevitable in a capitalist society? >> Could there be exceptions? Can you name some of these if any? For practical >> purposes, let's stick to modern literature. >> >> -- >> محمد فتحي كلفت >> Mahammad Fathy Kalfat >> >> ^^^^^^^^^^ >> CB: It would seem that "genuinely revolutionary" art might be hard to >> purvey very widely in capitalist society. You know the ruling ideas >> of any age are the ideas of its ruling classes and all that. >> >> Anyway >> >> >> Three Penny Opera by Bertolt Brecht ? >> >> The Jungle - Upton Sinclair ? >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Marxism-Thaxis mailing list >> Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu >> To change your options or unsubscribe go to: >> http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis >> > _______________________________________________ > Marxism-Thaxis mailing list > Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
