Uses of Slime Mould: Essays of Four Decades (British Literature) - Softcover

Mosley, Nicholas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 156478360X ISBN 13: 9781564783608

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press, 2004

Synopsis

Including pieces on Gregory Bateson, William Faulkner, Philip Pullman, Sir Oswald Mosley's politics, religion and stammering, this diverse collection gathers essays written by Nicholas Mosley over the past forty years. Resembling the behaviour of slime mould - a strange organism made up of separate amoebae that temporarily form a single pillar which then bursts in order to scatter its seeds across the forest floor - the ideas found in these essays converge and disperse, crossing over into other disciplines, and creating a unique way of looking at the world, one echoed in Mosley's fictional writings.

About this title

About the Author:

Born in London, Mosley was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford and served in Italy during the Second World War, winning the Military Cross for bravery. He succeeded as 3rd Baron Ravensdale in 1966 and, on the death of his father on 3 December 1980, he also succeeded to the Baronetcy. His father, Sir Oswald Mosley, founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932 and was a supporter of Benito Mussolini. Sir Oswald was arrested in 1940 for his antiwar campaigning, and spent the majority of World War II in prison. As an adult, Nicholas was a harsh critic of his father in "Beyond the Pale: Sir Oswald Mosley and Family 1933-1980" (1983), calling into question his father's motives and understanding of politics. Nicholas' work contributed to the 1998 Channel 4 television programme titled 'Mosley' based on his father's life. At the end of the mini-series, Nicholas is portrayed meeting his father in prison to ask him about his national allegiance. Mosley began to stammer as a young boy, and attended weekly sessions with speech therapist Lionel Logue in order to help him overcome the speech disorder. Mosley says his father claimed never really to have noticed his stammer, but feels Sir Oswald may have been less aggressive when speaking to him than he was towards other people as a result.

From Publishers Weekly:

This collection largely comprises book reviews and also features personal and philosophical essays published here for the first time. British experimental novelist Mosley (Hopeful Monsters) writes trenchantly on Nietzsche, Russell, Keynes, Trotsky, Andrei Sakharov, Freud and R.D. Laing in reviews of biographical studies that display his characteristically quirky and independent thought. Demonstrating his interest in formalism and his openness to international literature, Mosley shows acute appreciation of Faulkner, Patrick White, Calvino and Nabokov. Mosley's engagement with overcoming his legacy as the son of the British fascist Sir Oswald Mosley is well known. In a section of reviews entitled "Pathology and Sanity," he displays striking analytical seriousness on such topics as anti-Semitism, Israel, Himmler, Bruno Bettelheim and apartheid. In a fascinating essay describing his emotional confrontation with his father, who twice attached himself to nationalistic movements that relied heavily on racism, Mosley draws a razor sharp portrait of the "trap" of his father's political idealism. Similarly, when writing about his own stammering, Mosley brings thoughtfulness and a bristling intellect to bear. His writing about his Christian faith is similarly alert and persuasive. A keen advocate of reading the Bible straight through, Mosley is alive to its metaphorical complexity as a work of art. Six previously unpublished essays grapple critically and mystically with a modern age intent on bringing all mystery to light. This collection will satisfy admirers of Mosley's work and will greatly enhance readers' understanding of his formally daring and deeply metaphysical art.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 156478360X
• ISBN 13: 9781564783608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 222