Pure Reason: Poems by Nikos Stangos: Nikos Stangos Poems - Hardcover

Nikos Stangos was a popular and highly influential figure in the cultural life of London until his death in 2004. As an editor at Thames & Hudson, he was responsible for many acclaimed books, and he worked with some of the bestknown artists and art historians of the day. He was also an accomplished poet, composing verse in both English and his native Greek. His poems, while rooted in the specifics of his life, deal with broad philosophical issues: the nature of beauty, love, art and reason. All the works in this posthumous volume are published for the first time here, accompanied by illustrations from some of the artists who knew and loved Stangos. Their works, and those of all the contributors to this unique book, stand as a testament to the esteem in which Stangos was held, and as a tribute to his enduring memory.

Table of Contents

Introduction · Notes on the Poetry of Nikos Stangos · The Purity of Duration · The Definition of the Good · The Definition of the Beautiful Fictive Grammar · Fictive Nations · Facts, Fictions and Forecasts · How Could Speech Exhaust the Meaning of Speech? · The Necessities of the Mind · Enchantments of the Obvious · The Familiar Surroundings of the Words · Accumulation of Texts · Holidays · News of a Death A Hopeful Dream · An Obstacle · On a Walk · Space of Ideas · To Say to Oneself Suddenly One Morning · What Calm Then? · Imperative Present · Pure Reason · The Aim Was to Put a Poem Together

David Plante is the author of many acclaimed books, including Difficult Women and the widely praised Francoeur Trilogy.