Author Description

What happens when you get away from the world - from the vigorous tumult of practicalities, visibility and interaction - instead finding yourself at a distance and reflecting on things? This is the literary and philosophical question at stake here. Throughout history, a line of poets and thinkers has run away from the cultural and civilian centers. In their retreat, they have sought contemplation and authenticity or seen a prerequisite for critical distance. Some have actively moved away, others have felt pushed towards the periphery. Withdrawal may go towards internal exile, where distance to the surroundings may be found, but where a normal life is lived. Or, in modern times, withdrawal may occur in the form of concrete distance, for example in relation to the big city, which has usually served as the predominant site of modernism. Different approaches to 'distance pathos' are represented by a number of contributions. The authors of the book interpret the withdrawal figure as part of a tradition that has become current once again. --