Poetics of Space

Rare is the work of philosophy that invites both the casual reader and the academic. Rare, too, is the text so universal that luminaries across an array of fields lay claim to it. Yet, that is precisely the case with Gaston Bachelards The Poetics of Space. A rumination on the spaces we inhabit and the dreams and memories that fill them, this seminal work continues to be studied and enjoyed by philosophers, architects, writers, and literary theorists alike.

This new edition features a foreword by Mark Z. Danielewski, whose bestselling novel House of Leaves drew inspiration from Bachelards writings, and an introduction by internationally renowned philosopher Richard Kearney who explains the books enduring importance and its role within Bachelards remarkable career.

Since its initial publication in 1958, The Poetics of Space has been a muse to philosophers, architects, writers, psychologists, critics, and readers alike. The rare work of irresistibly inviting philosophy, Bachelard's seminal work brims with quiet revelations and stirring, mysterious imagery. This lyrical journey takes as its premise the emergence of the poetic image and finds an ideal metaphor in the intimate spaces of our homes. Guiding us through a stream of meditations on poetry, art, and the blooming of consciousness itself, Bachelard examines the domestic places that shape and hold our dreams and memories. Houses and rooms; cellars and attics; drawers, chests, and wardrobes; nests and shells; nooks and corners: No space is too vast or too small to be filled by our thoughts and our reveries. In Bachelard's enchanting spaces, "We are never real historians, but always near poets, and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost."

This new edition features a foreword by Mark Z. Danielewski, whose bestselling novel House of Leaves drew inspiration from Bachelard's writings, and an introduction by internationally renowned philosopher Richard Kearney who explains the book's enduring importance and its role within Bachelard's remarkable career.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Beloved and contemplated by philosophers, architects, writers, and literary theorists alike, Bachelard's lyrical, landmark work examines the places in which we place our conscious and unconscious thoughts and guides us through a stream of cerebral meditations on poetry, art, and the blooming of consciousness itself.

Houses and rooms; cellars and attics; drawers, chests and wardrobes; nests and shells; nooks and corners: no space is too vast or too small to be filled by our thoughts and our reveries.

With an introduction by acclaimed philosopher Richard Kearney and a foreword by author Mark Z. Danielewski.

Mark Z. Danielewski is the bestselling author of several novels, including House of Leaves and the National Book Award Finalist Only Revolutions. He lives in New York City.

Richard Kearney is an author, a philosopher, and the Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy at Boston College.