Humiliation by Wayne Koestenbaum

Humiliation by Wayne Koestenbaum

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free UK delivery over £5
  • 10% off preloved books when you join +Plus
  • Buying preloved emits 46% less CO2 than new
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

Humiliation by Wayne Koestenbaum

Wayne Koestenbaum considers the meaning of humiliation in this eloquent work of cultural critique and personal reflection.

The lives of people both famous and obscure are filled with scarlet-letter moments when their dirty laundry sees daylight. In these moments we not only witness the reversibility of success, of prominence, but also come to visceral terms with our own vulnerable selves. We can't stop watching the scene of shame, identifying with it and absorbing its nearness, and relishing our imagined immunity from its stain, even as we acknowledge the universal, embarrassing predicament of living in our own bodies. With an unusual, disarming blend of autobiography and cultural commentary, noted poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum takes us through a spectrum of mortifying circumstances--in history, literature, art, current events, music, film, and his own life. His generous disclosures and brilliant observations go beyond prurience to create a poetics of abasement. Inventive, poignant, erudite, and playful, Humiliation plunges into one of the most disquieting of human experiences, with reflections at once emboldening and humane.
Wayne Koestenbaum holds a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University. After being named co-winner of the 1989 Discovery/The Nation poetry contest, he published his first book of verse, Ode to Anna Moffo and Other Poems, which was chosen as one of The Village Voice Literary Supplement's Favorite Books of 1990. He has since published two other books of poetry and three books of prose, including a collection of essays, Cleavage: Essays on Sex, Stars, and Aesthetics (Ballantine, 2000). He is a tenured Professor of English at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780312429225
ISBN 10 0312429223
Title Humiliation
Author Wayne Koestenbaum
Series Big Ideas Small Books
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher St Martin's Press
Year published 2011-08-02
Number of pages 192
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable