Encountering Buddhism in Twentieth-Century British and American Literature
Alison Winch editor Dr Lawrence Normand editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:9th Apr '15
Currently unavailable, currently targeted to be due back around 5th April 2025, but could change

A wide-ranging critical examination of western literature's engagement with Buddhism in the 20th century.
Encountering Buddhism in Twentieth-Century British and American Literature explores the ways in which 20th-century literature has been influenced by Buddhism, and has been, in turn, a major factor in bringing about Buddhism's increasing spread and influence in the West. Focussing on Britain and the United States, Buddhism's influence on a range of key literary texts are examined in the context of those societies' evolving modernity. Writers discussed include T. S. Eliot, Hermann Hesse, Virginia Woolf, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, J. D. Salinger, Iris Murdoch, Maxine Hong Kingston. This book brings together for the first time a series of context-rich interpretations that demonstrate the importance of literature in this ongoing cultural change in Britain and the United States.
The impact of Buddhist ideas and practices upon western society, especially since the mid- twentieth century, far outweighs the number of people who self-identify as Buddhist. This excellent collection of essays is ground-breaking in its exploration of engagement with Buddhist philosophical ideas and tropes within modern British and American literature. Essential reading for gaining an understanding of 'oriental' influences and tropes within modern literature. * Richard King, Professor of Buddhist and Asian Studies, University of Kent, UK *
This represents a real development in literary study of Buddhist influence... The book, a pioneer in its way, is recommended for any scholar of twentieth-century Buddhism and its varied reflections and reinterpretations * Buddhist Studies Review *
ISBN: 9781474232852
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 358g
224 pages