100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders πŸš€

Antonin Artaud

Series: Critical Lives
4.29 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 14 ratings, 3 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Antonin Artaud by David Shafer and David A. Shafer offers an insightful exploration into the life and influence of the avant-garde artist, Antonin Artaud. This biography delves into his radical ideas that transformed theatre and thought, shedding light on his complex persona and groundbreaking contributions to the world of art and literature. Through examining his writings and troubled journey, the book provides a poignant portrait of an artist constantly pushing against societal norms.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3499
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by the life and works of avant-garde artists who challenged conventional theatre. You might enjoy exploring the turbulent and innovative journey of a figure whose radical ideas continue to influence modern avant-garde and experimental art forms.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A new, critical biography of enigmatic French theorist, writer, actor and artist Antonin Artaud.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In this biography of one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic personalities and idiosyncratic thinkers, David A. Shafer takes readers on a chronological voyage through Artaud's life.

Yet, as Artaud navigated through the first half of the century in the company of many of France's most influential cultural figures, his own journey was a lonely and largely isolated one, an existential ellipsis.

Series: Critical Lives

View all
  • Aldous Huxley
    Aldous Huxley delves into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most insightful thinkers. In this new biography, Jake Poller presents a rich and lucid account of the different phases of Huxley's career. From the early satirist who captured the glamorous despair of the postwar generation, Huxley evolved into a committed pacifist during the 1930s. The 1940s...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Antoni GaudΓ­
    The celebrated art nouveau architect Antoni GaudΓ­ was a contradictory figure: a deeply religious, politically right-wing man who nevertheless created revolutionary, lyrical buildings. This book explores GaudΓ­'s life, work, and influences, from Catalan nationalism to the Industrial Revolution. Michael Eaude expertly guides readers through GaudΓ­'s dozen great works, including the Sagrada Familia, which attracts millions of tourists to Barcelona each...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Antonin Artaud
    In this biography of one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic personalities and idiosyncratic thinkers, David A. Shafer takes readers on a chronological voyage through Artaud's life. Yet, as Artaud navigated through the first half of the century in the company of many of France's most influential cultural figures, his own journey was a lonely and largely isolated one, an...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Byron
    In this new book, David Ellis traces Byron's life from rented lodgings in Aberdeen to the crumbling splendours of Newstead Abbey and then on to his grand tour of the East. Describing his exile from England after a disastrous marriage, and subsequent travels in Italy and Greece, he shows how completely Byron's experiences coloured his writings, drawing out the tension...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Charles Bukowski
    In this new interpretation of the life and work of the American poet, short-story writer, and novelist Charles Bukowski, David Stephen Calonne examines Bukowski's writings, colourful life, and the desperate conditions of his lifestyle. He looks at the literary traditions that influenced Bukowski and discusses his unique place in world literature. Bukowski was born in Germany and raised in the...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Dylan Thomas
    Dylan Thomas, the author of some of the century's greatest poetry, stories, and film scriptsβ€”as well as one of the greatest radio features ever broadcast, Under Milk Woodβ€”is often characterised as self-indulgent. This concise and up-to-date biography challenges this depiction with a fresh portrait of the artist as a consummate professional. John Goodby and Chris Wigginton locate the source of...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hannah Arendt
    Hannah Arendt is one of the most renowned political thinkers of the twentieth century and her work has never been more relevant than it is today. Born in Germany in 1906, Arendt published her first book at the age of 23, before turning away from the world of academic philosophy to reckon with the rise of the Third Reich. After...
    Paperback
    $6200
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Ernest Hemingway
    Ernest Miller Hemingway (21 July 1899 - 2 July 1961) enjoyed a life of literary triumph set against a backdrop of some of the grandest landscapes in the world. Ernest Hemingway by Verna Kale offers a new, narrative portrait that challenges some long-held assumptions about his life and craft. It re-examines the writer, sportsman, and celebrity through the stages of...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Fernando Pessoa
    As a young man, Fernando Pessoa wrote 'be plural like the universe'. Staying true to this, he went on to invent over 100 fictional alter-egos, which he called heteronyms. This philosophical biography navigates Pessoa's early days in Lisbon and South Africa, reveals a philosopher-poet and pioneer of Portuguese modernism, and delves into the birth of Pessoa's heteronymic universe. Bartholomew Ryan...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Ford Madox Ford
    Ford Madox Ford (1873–1939) lived among several of the most important artists and writers of his time. Raised by Pre-Raphaelites and friends with Henry James, H. G. Wells, and Joseph Conrad, Ford was a leading figure of the avant-garde in pre-WWI London, responsible for publishing Ezra Pound, Wyndham Lewis, and D. H. Lawrence. After the war, he moved to Paris,...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
    In this concise yet comprehensive critical biography, Ritchie Robertson examines the work of Friedrich Nietzsche within the context of his life. The book traces Nietzsche's development from outstanding classical scholar to cultural critic, who measured Imperial Germany by the standards of ancient Greece. It follows him thence to prophet (in the persona of Zarathustra) and savage polemicist against modern liberal...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
    H.D. (Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961) was one of the first writers of free verse in English, best known for her sparse Imagist poems. For over forty years, she wrote poetry that resurrected forgotten ancient goddesses and autobiographical prose that explored her trauma, her desires, and the unique struggles of a twentieth-century woman writer. She was also a scholar of religion, mythology,...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Antonin Artaud by David A. Shafer receives praise for its insightful analysis and erudite presentation, continuing the longstanding tradition of American authors engaging deeply with French cultural figures. Laurent Binet, the author of HHhH, highlights the book's outstanding contribution to understanding Artaud's complex legacy.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781780235707

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 34 illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 200.0mm

Height: 130.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 248

About the Author

David A. Shafer is Chair of the History Department, and Professor of Modern and Contemporary European History, at California State University, Long Beach.

More from Biography & Memoir

View all
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Famesick
    Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgunΒ wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through herΒ journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Dogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
    From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Copy
    New Release
    Stakes
    Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the author’s bestselling memoirΒ Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampire’s badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram Stoker’sΒ Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Built for This
    Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Even the Good Girls Will Cry
    Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    An Ocean and a Day
    An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love. An Ocean and a Day is Hannah Richell's personal account of losing her husband, Matt, in a surfing accident on Tamarama beach in 2014. It is the story of the grief journey she travelled over the first two...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    A Place to Stand
    A Place to Stand by Clare Ward is a profound memoir that delves into the life of a country doctor living and working in the Hokianga Harbour area in the far north of Aotearoa New Zealand. This region is sparsely populated and poses numerous health challenges. This thoughtful account details Clare’s thirty-year career, highlighting the people she works with and...
    Hardback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Rule of Lies
    Written with all the pace and energy of a John Grisham novel … An incredible true story and a great read! BILL BROWDER, author of Red Notice and Freezing Order An American lawyer’s brilliant, propulsive story of witnessing and playing a part in the transformation of Russia under Yeltsin and Putin. A true tale of fascinating personalities, criminal intrigue, harrowing...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Rory
    TheΒ New York TimesΒ bestseller The #1Β Irish TimesΒ bestseller The definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era. Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4199
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Te Kaikaukau | The Swimmer
    Novelist, memoirist and playwright Witi Ihimaera – author of Pounamu, Pounamu and The Whale Rider – decided, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year full-time at Te Wānanga Takiura, immersing himself in his own language, in te reo Māori. This book tells the story of this kaikaukau, this swimmer, and his year...
    Paperback
    $3500
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    This Is Me: A Reckoning
    This is a searingly honest and moving memoir from double Golden Globe-nominatedactress Hayden Panettiere. Hayden Panettiere has been in front of the camera since before she could talk. She roseto stardom typecasted as Hollywood's blonde girl next door. As a young celebrity,naysayers were certain she would crash and burn. Not one to disappoint, she did.Hayden Panettiere's irreverent memoir satisfies our...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.