Kazantzakis

by Bien, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780691128801
• ISBN10: 0691128804
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-02
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

"No author who lives in Greece," writes Peter Bien, "can avoid politics." This first volume of his major intellectual biography of Nikos Kazantzakis approaches the distinguished--and controversial--writer by describing his struggle with political questions that were in reality aspects of a fervent religious search. Beginning with Kazantzakis's early career in fin de siegrave;cle Paris and his discovery of William James, Nietzsche, and Bergson, the book continues by describing his experiments with communism in turbulent Greece, his visits to Soviet Russia, and the publication of his epic Odyssey in 1938. Bien demonstrates that politics and religion cannot be separated in Kazantzakis's development. His major concern was personal salvation, but the method he employed to win that salvation was political engagement. Did deliverance lie in nationalism? Communism? Fascism? He eventually rejected each of these possible solutions as morally appalling. Abused by both left and right, he insisted on an "eschatological politics" of spiritual fulfillment. This compelling biography will be essential reading for Kazantzakis scholars and for a wide audience of those who already admire the Greek author's work. In addition, it will provide an introduction to the first three decades of Kazantzakis's career for those who have yet to enjoy such passionate and stirring novels as Zorba the Greek, The Greek Passion, and The Last Temptation of Christ. This first volume provides an introduction to the initial three decades of Kazantzakis's career for those who have enjoyed such vibrant and stirring novels asZorba the Greek, The Greek Passion,andThe Last Temptation of Christ.

Author Biography

Peter Bien is Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College

Table of Contents

Preface to the paperback edition	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
A note on documentation and transliteration	p. xiii
List of works	p. xv
Chronology	p. xix
Why Kazantzakis is not a Political Writer	p. 3
Politics or metapolitics?
The essential; the adventitious; continuity
Nationalism equals purposeless heroism
The kravyi: A metapolitical "right act"
Philosophical Studies in Paris	p. 23
William James
Friedrich Nietzsche
Henri Bergson
Development of Kazantzakis's (Meta-) Communism	p. 55
The Asia Minor disaster as the stimulus for Kazantzakis's idiosyncratic communism
Vienna: Political yearnings versus Buddhism
Berlin: Bookish and other influences; educational reform
Askitiki
The Iraklion Incident and the Odyssey's First Draft	p. 79
Italy: Buddha, Saint Francis
Iraklion: Praxis
Iraklion: Art
Russia	p. 99
Symposium
Second trip to the Soviet Union; the Anayennisi debate; "Crucified Russia"
Italian Fascism
Egypt and Sinai
Odyssey; third trip to the Soviet Union; Panait Istrati
Greece: The Alhambra speech and its consequences
Fourth trip to the Soviet Union; revision of Askitiki
The Roussakov affair; break with Istrati
Toda-Raba and the Waning of Kazantzakis's Communism	p. 157
A novel of self-revelation
Sorting out Kazantzakis's political allegiances after 1929; why he was never a communist
The attitude of Greek communists and others toward Kazantzakis
Aristotelianism versus existentialism; the middle ground
Aesthetic Freedom	p. 185
The transitional age
The kravyi
The logos
Heroic action transubstantiated
Odyssey	p. 191
Successive drafts
World-view
Aids to a holistic reading
Political content
The Kierkegaardian paradigm: Aesthetic, ethical, religious
Summary: How the Odyssey reflects Kazantzakis's political convictions
Notes	p. 241
References	p. 287
Index	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.