DOCSLIB.ORG

Dissertation Achille Castaldo Final Submission

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dissertation Achille Castaldo Final Submission Narrative Experience and Social Conflict. Italy, France, 1943-1977 by Achille Castaldo Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto, Advisor ___________________________ Anne-Gaëlle Saliot ___________________________ David Bell ___________________________ Michael Hardt Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 ABSTRACT Narrative Experience and Social Conflict. Italy, France, 1943-1977 by Achille Castaldo Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Roberto Dainotto, Advisor ___________________________ Anne-Gaëlle Saliot ___________________________ David Bell ___________________________ Michael Hardt An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2019 Copyright by Achille Castaldo 2019 Abstract This dissertation investigates the relation between narrative forms, in both literature and cinema, and historical moments of deep crisis of the social order: the interregnum between Fascism and First Republic in Italy; the decolonization process in Algeria seen from metropolitan France; and the worker and student struggles of the Sixties and the Seventies. The goal of my analysis is to show how a traumatic reality can fracture the ideological discourse dominant in a specific historical moment, leaving a mark on the structural and formal (rhetorical) construction of the work of art. My analysis begins with Naples immediately after World War II, by focusing on the works of Curzio Malaparte and Anna Maria Ortese. I then move to Paris in the aftermath of the Algerian War, to analyze the early films of Éric Rohmer, Chris Marker, Guy Debord, and Agnès Varda. My investigation proceeds by examining workers’ struggles in Northern Italy in Vogliamo tutto by Nanni Balestrini and ends in Bologna during the years of the ’77 revolt, where Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s early work dramatizes the communal existence of the student-worker movement. My method is based on a formal analysis of devices of disruption of the mimetic flow: anomalous use of pronouns, fragmentation, tension between verb tenses, and disconnections of the point of view. All are features through which the historical moment, I argue, is inscribed in the reading-viewing experience. iv Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Curzio Malaparte, Anna Maria Ortese. Excessive Reality and Literary Experience ....... 17 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Curzio Malaparte’s La pelle. Extreme experience and the rhetoric of interruption ................................................................................................................................................. 21 1.1.1 Expérience-limite and the principle of disconnection .......................................... 21 1.1.2 From Kaputt to La pelle. The theme of the plague and the iconography of the Triumph of Death .................................................................................................................. 30 1.1.3 Disruption of the mimetic flow and compensatory imagination (a structural analysis of the Pendino episode). ...................................................................................... 39 1.2 Anna Maria Ortese’s Il mare non bagna Napoli: Intensity, interruption, liminal spaces. ..................................................................................................................................... 60 1.2.1 Neapolitan ideology and the “fear of the plebs” .................................................. 61 1.2.2 Things that really happened ......................................................................................... 78 1.2.3 Devices of disconnection and intensification in “Oro a Forcella” and “Il silenzio della ragione” ....................................................................................................... 87 2 The Algerian War did not take place. Colonial imaginary and its subversion in French cinema at the time of the Algerian “events”: the cases of Éric Rohmer, Guy Debord, Chris Marker, and Agnès Varda. ............................................................................................ 110 Introduction. “Il faut du recul” ........................................................................................ 110 2.1 Censorship ..................................................................................................................... 115 v 2.2 The Algerian War did not take place ......................................................................... 127 2.3 Ideological figuration in Rohmer’s first two Moral Tales: “voice of memory,” swerve of the image, and colonial fantasies. .................................................................. 134 2.4 Sans mémoire. Le Joli mai as refusal of ideological memory ................................. 161 2.5 A politics of “clandestinity” in Guy Debord’s Sur le passage and Critique de la séparation ............................................................................................................................ 171 2.6 Catastrophe, Everydayness, “Clandestinity”: Le Signe du Lion ........................... 191 2.7 Cléo de 5 à 7: beyond the script of the self ................................................................ 210 3 “How one lives within the subversive intention:” Problems of political narrative in Balestrini’s first two novels ...................................................................................................... 218 Introduction. From Tristano to Vogliamo tutto. ............................................................ 218 3.1 Novel of the Theory: Tristano ..................................................................................... 223 3.2 “The anxiety for a yet-to-come era”: The influence of Workerism on We Want Everything ........................................................................................................................... 240 3.3 Autonomy as a formative principle ........................................................................... 266 3.4 Novel and epic as ideological figures ........................................................................ 276 3.5 Lukács’ romance as subversion of tragic and novelistic form ............................... 286 3.6 Dostoevsky’s “epic” as figure of aesthetics-politics conversion ............................ 296 3.7 Catharsis as experience of “radical depersonalization” ......................................... 304 3.8 Vogliamo tutto .............................................................................................................. 312 Epilogue. ..................................................................................................................................... 328 The Obscene Community: Pier Vittorio Tondelli’s writing and the experience of ’77 ... 328 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 328 vi 1 Obscenity and the “third eye” ....................................................................................... 330 2. Communal experience and narrative function .......................................................... 334 3. Adolescent style .............................................................................................................. 339 4. The obscene object of community ................................................................................ 350 5. The separate room .......................................................................................................... 353 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 357 References ................................................................................................................................... 363 Films cited .................................................................................................................................. 374 vii Acknowledgements Parts of Chapter 2 have been reworked for the journal article “Ideological figuration in Rohmer’s first two Moral Tales: ‘voice of memory’, clinamen of the image, and colonial fantasies,” that has been accepted for publication on “Studies in French Cinema.” The article is already accessible in Preview Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14715880.2018.1511031 viii Introduction Anna Maria Ortese’s Il porto di Toledo was dedicated since its first edition (1975) to somebody named Anne Hurdle. In a prefatory note added to the 1998 edition, written a few days before her death, Ortese explained who this woman was. Briefly mentioned by Benjamin Constant
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hungarian Studies Review, Vol
    Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XLIII, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2016) Essays: (relating to North American themes) Greg Donaghy Éva Petrás Susan Glanz Nándor Dreisziger (relating to Hungary and neighbouring states) Béla Bodó Gergely Kunt Oszkár Roginer Also: Book reviews Forthcoming essays and reviews by Joseph Imre Zotán Fejős Anna Menyhért Nóra Deák* Ágnes Széchenyi* Howard Lupovitch* *tentative Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XLIII, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2016) CONTENTS North America: “A Perennial Problem”: Canadian Relations with Hungary, 1945-65 GREG DONAGHY ……………………………………...……… 5 Escape into Emigration: Christian democratic social welfare politician Béla Kovrig and the Hungarian State Security, 1946-1948 ÉVA PETRÁS …………………………………………….…… 23 Nicholas L. Deak, the Hungarian “James Bond of the world of money” SUSAN GLANZ ………………………………………………. 39 The Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Parish of Toronto: Nine Decades of Evolution NÁNDOR DREISZIGER …………………………………...… 59 East Central Europe: Caught between Independence and Irredentism: The “Jewish Question” in the Foreign Policy of the Kállay Government, 1942-1944 BÉLA BODÓ ………………………………………………….. 83 Ágnes Zsolt’s Authorship of her Daughter Éva Heyman’s Holocaust Diary GERGELY KUNT ………………………………………….... 127 Identity Shift in the Literature of Vojvodina’s Hungarian Community, 1992-2010 OSZKÁR ROGINER ……………………….……………...… 155 Contents (continued): Book Reviews Marius Turda, Eugenics and Nation in Early 20th Century Hungary. Reviewed by Boglárka Kiss ………………………………….. 183 H. David Baer, The Struggle of Hungarian Lutherans under Communism. Reviewed by Nándor Dreisziger ………………………...… 186 Books received ……………………………………………..………… 190 Our Contributors ……………………………………………………… 191 Hungarian Studies Review, Vol. XLIII, Nos. 1-2 (Spring-Fall, 2016) “A Perennial Problem”: Canadian Relations with Hungary, 1945-65 Greg Donaghy1 2014-15 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Canadian- Hungarian diplomatic relations.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cheeses Dolomites
    THE CHEESES UNIONE EUROPEA REGIONE DEL VENETO OF THE BELLUNO DOLOMITES Project co-financed by the European Union, through the European Regional Development fund. Community Initiative INTERREG III A Italy-Austria. Project “The Belluno Cheese Route – Sights and Tastes to Delight the Visitor.” Code VEN 222065. HOW THEY ARE CREATED AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE ENJOYED HOW THEY ARE CREATED AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE ENJOYED HOW THEY ARE CREATED BELLUNO DOLOMITES OF THE CHEESES THE FREE COPY THE CHEESES OF THE BELLUNO DOLOMITES HOW THEY ARE CREATED AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE ENJOYED his booklet has been published as part of the regionally-managed project “THE BELLUNO CHEESE ROUTE: SIGHTS AND TASTES TO TDELIGHT THE VISITOR”, carried out by the Province of Belluno and the Chamber of Commerce of Belluno (with the collaboration of the Veneto Region Milk Producers’ Association) and financed under the EU project Interreg IIIA Italy-Austria. As is the case for all cross-border projects, the activities have been agreed upon and developed in partnership with the Austrian associations “Tourismusverband Lienzer Dolomiten” (Lienz- Osttirol region), “Tourismusverband Hochpustertal” (Sillian) and “Verein zur Förderung des Stadtmarktes Lienz”, and with the Bolzano partner “Centro Culturale Grand Hotel Dobbiaco”. The project is an excellent opportunity to promote typical mountain produce, in particular cheeses, in order to create a close link with the promotion of the local area, culture and tourism. There is a clear connection between, one the one hand, the tourist, hotel and catering trades and on the other, the safeguarding and promotion of typical quality produce which, in particular in mountain areas, is one of the main channels of communication with the visitor, insofar as it is representative of the identity of the people who live and work in the mountains.
    [Show full text]
  • Select Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley
    ENGLISH CLÀSSICS The vignette, representing Shelleÿs house at Great Mar­ lou) before the late alterations, is /ro m a water- colour drawing by Dina Williams, daughter of Shelleÿs friend Edward Williams, given to the E ditor by / . Bertrand Payne, Esq., and probably made about 1840. SELECT LETTERS OF PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY RICHARD GARNETT NEW YORK D.APPLETON AND COMPANY X, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET MDCCCLXXXIII INTRODUCTION T he publication of a book in the series of which this little volume forms part, implies a claim on its behalf to a perfe&ion of form, as well as an attradiveness of subjeâ:, entitling it to the rank of a recognised English classic. This pretensión can rarely be advanced in favour of familiar letters, written in haste for the information or entertain­ ment of private friends. Such letters are frequently among the most delightful of literary compositions, but the stamp of absolute literary perfe&ion is rarely impressed upon them. The exceptions to this rule, in English literature at least, occur principally in the epistolary litera­ ture of the eighteenth century. Pope and Gray, artificial in their poetry, were not less artificial in genius to Cowper and Gray ; but would their un- their correspondence ; but while in the former premeditated utterances, from a literary point of department of composition they strove to display view, compare with the artifice of their prede­ their art, in the latter their no less successful cessors? The answer is not doubtful. Byron, endeavour was to conceal it. Together with Scott, and Kcats are excellent letter-writers, but Cowper and Walpole, they achieved the feat of their letters are far from possessing the classical imparting a literary value to ordinary topics by impress which they communicated to their poetry.
    [Show full text]
  • Middle Triassic Gastropods from the Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland Vittorio Pieroni1 and Heinz Furrer2*
    Pieroni and Furrer Swiss J Palaeontol (2020) 139:2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-019-00201-8 Swiss Journal of Palaeontology RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Middle Triassic gastropods from the Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland Vittorio Pieroni1 and Heinz Furrer2* Abstract For the frst time gastropods from the Besano Formation (Anisian/Ladinian boundary) are documented. The material was collected from three diferent outcrops at Monte San Giorgio (Southern Alps, Ticino, Switzerland). The taxa here described are Worthenia (Humiliworthenia)? af. microstriata, Frederikella cf. cancellata, ?Trachynerita sp., ?Omphalopty- cha sp. 1 and ?Omphaloptycha sp. 2. They represent the best preserved specimens of a larger collection and docu- ment the presence in this formation of the clades Vetigastropoda, Neritimorpha and Caenogastropoda that were widespread on the Alpine Triassic carbonate platforms. True benthic molluscs are very rarely documented in the Besano Formation, which is interpreted as intra-platform basin sediments deposited in usually anoxic condition. Small and juvenile gastropods could have been lived as pseudoplankton attached to foating algae or as free-swimming veliger planktotrophic larval stages. Accumulations of larval specimens suggest unfavorable living conditions with prevailing disturbance in the planktic realm or mass mortality events. However, larger gastropods more probably were washed in with sediments disturbed by slumping and turbidite currents along the basin edge or storm activity across the platform of the time equivalent Middle San Salvatore Dolomite. Keywords: Gastropods, Middle Triassic, Environment, Besano Formation, Southern Alps, Switzerland Introduction environment characterized by anoxic condition in bottom Te Middle Triassic Besano Formation (formerly called waters of an intraplatform basin (Bernasconi 1991; Schatz “Grenzbitumenzone” in most publications) is exposed 2005a).
    [Show full text]
  • On the Margin of Cities. Representation of Urban Space in Contemporary Irish and British Fiction Philippe Laplace, Eric Tabuteau
    Cities on the Margin; On the Margin of Cities. Representation of Urban Space in Contemporary Irish and British Fiction Philippe Laplace, Eric Tabuteau To cite this version: Philippe Laplace, Eric Tabuteau. Cities on the Margin; On the Margin of Cities. Representation of Urban Space in Contemporary Irish and British Fiction. 2003. hal-02320291 HAL Id: hal-02320291 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02320291 Submitted on 14 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Cities on the Margin; On the Margin of Cities 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Gérard BREY (University of Franche-Comté, Besançon), Foreword ..... 9 Philippe LAPLACE & Eric TABUTEAU (University of Franche- Comté, Besançon), Cities on the Margin; On the Margin of Cities ......... 11 Richard SKEATES (Open University), "Those vast new wildernesses of glass and brick:" Representing the Contemporary Urban Condition ......... 25 Peter MILES (University of Wales, Lampeter), Road Rage: Urban Trajectories and the Working Class ............................................................ 43 Tim WOODS (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), Re-Enchanting the City: Sites and Non-Sites in Urban Fiction ................................................ 63 Eric TABUTEAU (University of Franche-Comté, Besançon), Marginally Correct: Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners ....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The RUTGERS LIBRETTO Newsletter of the Italian Department IV N
    RUTGERS DEPARTMENT OF ITALIAN SPRING 2015 The RUTGERS LIBRETTO Newsletter of the Italian Department IV n. 1 Letter from the Chair TABLE OF CONTENTS am delighted to report that the Italian front cover I FROM THE CHAIR Department at Rutgers is in excellent shape, Paola Gambarota in spite of the recent ups and downs of the 2 HIGHLIGHTS Humanities in the US. We just celebrated the Sheri La Macchia & graduation of 21 seniors, out of 46 majors, during Carmela Scala a joyful evening attended by 74 people. Three 4 UNDERGRADUATE NEWS ABOVE: Paola Gambarota among our seniors completed an honors thesis. & ITALIAN NIGHT We were very impressed when students attending Prof. Rhiannon Welch’s senior 6 LECTURES & IGS seminar organized a two-day conference on the topic of “New and Old Italian 8 RUTGERS DAY Identities,” demonstrating a strong commitment to explore timely issues of 10 GRADUATE NEWS citizenship and immigration. One of these students, Nicoletta Romano, continued to study these questions with the support of the Lloyd Gardner Fellowship Program 12 ALUMNI REUNION & NEWS in Leadership and Social Policy, under the guidance of Professor Welch. Another 16 FACULTY NEWS Italian major, Mihaela Sanderson, was selected as the author of the “Best Poster” for back cover the Humanities portion of the Aresty Symposium, the result of a research project DEPARTMENT INITIATIVES developed with the support of her mentor Prof. Andrea Baldi. This is the second consecutive time that a student majoring in Italian is recognized in this way. There have been some changes in our department, and we miss our former friends and colleagues, our beloved Carol Feinberg, our kindhearted Robin Rogers, and our former language coordinator Daniele de Feo.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Cincinnati
    ! "# $ % & % ' % !" #$ !% !' &$ &""! '() ' #$ *+ ' "# ' '% $$(' ,) * !$- .*./- 0 #!1- 2 *,*- Atomic Apocalypse – ‘Nuclear Fiction’ in German Literature and Culture A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) in the Department of German Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences 2010 by Wolfgang Lueckel B.A. (equivalent) in German Literature, Universität Mainz, 2003 M.A. in German Studies, University of Cincinnati, 2005 Committee Chair: Sara Friedrichsmeyer, Ph.D. Committee Members: Todd Herzog, Ph.D. (second reader) Katharina Gerstenberger, Ph.D. Richard E. Schade, Ph.D. ii Abstract In my dissertation “Atomic Apocalypse – ‘Nuclear Fiction’ in German Literature and Culture,” I investigate the portrayal of the nuclear age and its most dreaded fantasy, the nuclear apocalypse, in German fictionalizations and cultural writings. My selection contains texts of disparate natures and provenance: about fifty plays, novels, audio plays, treatises, narratives, films from 1946 to 2009. I regard these texts as a genre of their own and attempt a description of the various elements that tie them together. The fascination with the end of the world that high and popular culture have developed after 9/11 partially originated from the tradition of nuclear fiction since 1945. The Cold War has produced strong and lasting apocalyptic images in German culture that reject the traditional biblical apocalypse and that draw up a new worldview. In particular, German nuclear fiction sees the atomic apocalypse as another step towards the technical facilitation of genocide, preceded by the Jewish Holocaust with its gas chambers and ovens.
    [Show full text]
  • A British Reflection: the Relationship Between Dante's Comedy and The
    A British Reflection: the Relationship between Dante’s Comedy and the Italian Fascist Movement and Regime during the 1920s and 1930s with references to the Risorgimento. Keon Esky A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. University of Sydney 2016 KEON ESKY Fig. 1 Raffaello Sanzio, ‘La Disputa’ (detail) 1510-11, Fresco - Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican. KEON ESKY ii I dedicate this thesis to my late father who would have wanted me to embark on such a journey, and to my partner who with patience and love has never stopped believing that I could do it. KEON ESKY iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis owes a debt of gratitude to many people in many different countries, and indeed continents. They have all contributed in various measures to the completion of this endeavour. However, this study is deeply indebted first and foremost to my supervisor Dr. Francesco Borghesi. Without his assistance throughout these many years, this thesis would not have been possible. For his support, patience, motivation, and vast knowledge I shall be forever thankful. He truly was my Virgil. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank the whole Department of Italian Studies at the University of Sydney, who have patiently worked with me and assisted me when I needed it. My sincere thanks go to Dr. Rubino and the rest of the committees that in the years have formed the panel for the Annual Reviews for their insightful comments and encouragement, but equally for their firm questioning, which helped me widening the scope of my research and accept other perspectives.
    [Show full text]
  • Naples and the Nation in Cultural Representations of the Allied Occupation. California Italian Studies, 7(2)
    Glynn, R. (2017). Naples and the Nation in Cultural Representations of the Allied Occupation. California Italian Studies, 7(2). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1vp8t8dz Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record License (if available): CC BY-NC Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via University of California at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1vp8t8dz . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ UC Berkeley California Italian Studies Title Naples and the Nation in Cultural Representations of the Allied Occupation Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1vp8t8dz Journal California Italian Studies, 7(2) Author Glynn, Ruth Publication Date 2017-01-01 License CC BY-NC 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Naples and the Nation in Cultural Representations of the Allied Occupation Ruth Glynn The Allied Occupation in 1943–45 represents a key moment in the history of Naples and its relationship with the outside world. The arrival of the American Fifth Army on October 1, 1943 represented the military liberation of the city from both Nazi fascism and starvation, and inaugurated an extraordinary socio-cultural encounter between the international troops of the Allied forces and a war-weary population.
    [Show full text]
  • Italiani a Parigi
    italiani a Parigi Da Severini a S a v i n i o Da De ChiriCo a CamPigli Birolli Boldini Bucci campigli de chirico de pisis levi magnelli m e n z i o m o d i g l i a n i p a r e s c e pirandello prampolini rossi savinio severini soffici Tozzi zandomeneghi ItalIanI a ParIgI D a S e v e r I n I a S AVI n IO Da De ChIrico a CaMPIGLI Bergamo, 10 - 30 maggio 2014 Palazzo Storico Credito Bergamasco Curatori Angelo Piazzoli Paola Silvia Ubiali Progetto grafico Drive Promotion Design Art Director Eleonora Valtolina Indicazioni cromatiche VERDE BLU ROSSO C100 M40 Y100 C100 M80 Y20 K40 C40 M100 Y100 PANTONE 349 PANTONE 281 PANTONE 187 R39 G105 B59 R32 G45 B80 R123 G45 B41 ItalIanI a ParIgI Da Severini a SAVINIO Da De Chirico a Campigli p r e C u r so r i e D e r e D i Opere da collezioni private Birolli, Boldini, Bucci Campigli, de Chirico de Pisis, Levi, Magnelli Menzio, Modigliani Paresce, Pirandello Prampolini, Rossi Savinio, Severini, Soffici Tozzi, Zandomeneghi 1 I g ri a P a P r e f a z I o n e SaggIo CrItICo I a n li a T I 2 P r e f a z I o n e SaggIo CrItICo 3 Italiani a Parigi: una scoperta affascinante Nelle ricognizioni compiute tra le raccolte private non abbiamo incluso invece chi si mosse dall’Italia del territorio, nell’intento di reperire le opere che soltanto per soggiorni turistici o per brevi comparse.
    [Show full text]
  • Ew V Essel P Ress
    i New Vessel Press 2017 –18 New Vessel Press, founded in New York City in 2012, is an independent pub- lishing house specializing in the translation of foreign literature into English. By bringing readers foreign literature and narrative non-fiction, we offer cap- tivating, thought-provoking works with beautifully designed covers and high production values. We scour the globe looking for the best stories, knowing that only about three percent of the books published in the United States each year are translations. That leaves a lot of great literature still to be discovered. At New Vessel Press, we believe that knowledge of foreign cultures and litera- tures enriches our lives by offering passageways to understand and embrace the world. We regard literary translation as both craft and art, enabling us to tra- verse borders and open minds. We are committed to books that offer erudition and enjoyment, stimulate and scintillate, transform and transport. And of course, what matters most is not where the authors hail from, or what language they write in. The most important thing is the quality of the work itself. And hence our name. We publish great books, just in a new vessel. Our books have received a wide array of accolades, from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to The New Yorker and O, The Oprah Magazine. We are confident that our 2017-18 offerings will continue to make their mark and look forward to bringing the world’s great literature to ever more readers. 1 2 THE MADELEINE PROJECT By Clara Beaudoux / France Translated by Alison Anderson NONFICTION September 2017 5 ½ x 8 ¼ / 304 pp Trade Paper $23.95 978-1-939931-49-8 “Tells history in a brilliant, original way for the 21st century ..
    [Show full text]
  • A Mode of Production and Distribution
    Chapter Three A Mode of Production and Distribution An Economic Concept: “The Small Budget Film,” Was it Myth or Reality? t has often been assumed that the New Wave provoked a sudden Ibreak in the production practices of French cinema, by favoring small budget films. In an industry characterized by an inflationary spiral of ever-increasing production costs, this phenomenon is sufficiently original to warrant investigation. Did most of the films considered to be part of this movement correspond to this notion of a small budget? We would first have to ask: what, in 1959, was a “small budget” movie? The average cost of a film increased from roughly $218,000 in 1955 to $300,000 in 1959. That year, at the moment of the emergence of the New Wave, 133 French films were produced; of these, 33 cost more than $400,000 and 74 cost more than $200,000. That leaves 26 films with a budget of less than $200,000, or “low budget productions;” however, that can hardly be used as an adequate criterion for movies to qualify as “New Wave.”1 Even so, this budgetary trait has often been employed to establish a genealogy for the movement. It involves, primarily, “marginal” films produced outside the dominant commercial system. Two Small Budget Films, “Outside the System” From the point of view of their mode of production, two titles are often imposed as reference points: Jean-Pierre Melville’s self-produced Silence of 49 A Mode of Production and Distribution the Sea, 1947, and Agnes Varda’s La Pointe courte (Short Point), made seven years later, in 1954.
    [Show full text]