Readings in Infancy

Readings in Infancy marks a genuine turn in Lyotard’s work. After the reflection on the sublime comes the elaboration of the subliminal. Infancy is this non-conscious, prelinguistic state in which the subject is born and yet does not exist. If the sublime is the experience of the too late, the subliminal is that of the too early. In-between them, Lyotard powerfully unravels the traumatic adventure of the unpresentable. * Catherine Malabou, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston University, UK, and University of California at Irvine, USA *
Reading is always already entailed in the act of writing. While few musicians have perfect pitch, some writers draw near to perfect pitch in reading. Here is Lyotard lingering in books, reading prudently, slowly and extracting the fomenting unrest of those who set the tone for modernity and its discontents. * Vlad Ionescu, Associate Professor of Art Theory, Faculty of Architecture and Art/PXL MAD, Hasselt University, Belgium *
In these readings Lyotard illustrates how his innovative theory of infancy can illuminate Kafka, Joyce, Freud, Arendt, Sartre and Valéry. They showcase Lyotard’s importance as a reader of art and literature. The six interventions are not only enlightening, but are crafted in Lyotard’s exquisite idiom. * François Noudelmann, Professor of French Literature, Thought, and Culture, New York University, USA *
Lyotard’s writing seems impelled by timbre. It often confounds its readers while tasking them to listen and respond. * French Studies *