Economy of the Unlost

Oct 5, 2026

Economy of the Unlost contains the Martin Classical Lectures, presenting Anne Carson’s interpretive study of aesthetic structure and attention. The work opens with a Note on Method and a Prologue, then develops a sequence of chapters that explore themes including alienation, visual and invisible relations, epitaphs, negation, and an epilogue focused on the enduring presence of “all candled things.” It engages comparative criticism through readings that pair Simonides of Keos with Paul Celan.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages155

Reading Time3 h 59 min

AccessFree to download

Note on Method

Prologue

False Sail

Chapter I - Alienation

Chapter II - Visibles Invisibles

Chapter III - Epitaphs

Chapter IV - Negation

Epilogue - All Candled Things

Bibliography

Index

Economy of the Unlost martin classical lectures New Series The Martin Classical Lectures are delivered annually at Oberlin College through a foundation established by his many friends in honor of Charles Beebe Martin, for forty-ﬁve years a teacher of classical literature and classical art at Oberlin. John Peradotto, Man in the Middle Voice: Name and Narration in the Odyssey Martha C. Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics Josiah Ober, Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics of Popular Rule Anne Carson, Economy of the Unlost (Reading Simonides of Keos with Paul Celan) Economy of the Unlost (READING SIMON IDES OF KEOS WITH PAUL CE LAN) Anne Carson p r i n c e t o n u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s p r i n c e t o n , n e w j e r s e y Copyright q 1999 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carson, Anne, 1950– Economy of the unlost : reading Simonides of Keos with Paul Celan / Anne Carson. [p. cm](p. cm).—(Martin classical lectures. New series) Includes bibliographical references and index. eISBN 1-4008-0111-7 1. Simonides, ca. 556–467 B.C.—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Celan, Paul—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Literature, Comparative—Greek and German. 4. Literature, Comparative—German and Greek. 5. Economics in literature. 6. Aesthetics. I. Title. II. Series: Martin classical lectures (Unnumbered) . New series. PA4411.C37 1999 884 9.01—dc21 98-49984 This book has been composed in Baskerville [http:/ /pup.princeton.edu](http:/ /pup.princeton.edu) Note on Method vii Prologue False Sail 3 Chapter I Alienation 10 Chapter II Visibles Invisibles 45 Chapter III Epitaphs 73 Chapter IV Negation 100 Epilogue All Candled Things 120 Bibliography 135 Index 145 Nur hat ein jeder sein Maas. (Ho¨lderlin) There is too much self in my writing. Do you know the term Luka´cs uses to describe aesthetic structure? Eine fensterlose Monade.1 I do not want to be a windowless monad—my training and trainers opposed subjectivity strongly, I have struggled since the beginning to drive my thought out into the landscape of science and fact where other people converse logically and exchange judgments—but I go blind out there. So writing involves some dashing back and forth between that darkening landscape where facticity is strewn and a windowless room cleared of everything Ido not know. It is the clearing that takes time. It is the clearing that is a mystery. Once cleared the room writes itself. I copy down the names of everything left in it and note their activity. How does the clearing occur? Luka´cs says it begins with my intent to excise everything that is not accesible to the immediate experience (Erlebbarkeit) of the self as self. Were this possible, it would seal the room on its own boundaries like a cosmos. Luka´csis prescribing a room for aesthetic work; it would be a gesture of false consciousness to say academic writing can take place there. And yet, you know as well as I, thought ﬁnds itself in this room in its best moments— locked inside its own pressures, ﬁshing up facts of the landscape from notes or memory as well as it may—vibrating (as Mallarme´ would say) with their disappearance. People have different viewson how to represent the vibration.“Names” and “activity” are eu phemisms for the work. You may prefer different euphemisms; I 1 Luka´cs (1917), 19. NOTE ON METHOD guess the important thing is to copy down whatever vibration you see while your attention is strong. Attention is a task we share, you and I. To keep attention strong means to keep it from settling. Partly for this reason I have chosen to talk about two men at once. They keep each other from settling.

FAQs

What is the central focus of the book’s method?

The book emphasizes how a “clearing” enables aesthetic work, and it treats attention as a shared task that must stay strong to avoid settling.

Which main authors are paired for key readings?

Anne Carson’s lectures include a reading of Simonides of Keos together with Paul Celan.

What topics are covered across the chapters?

The chapters address alienation, visibilities and invisibilities, epitaphs, and negation, followed by an epilogue centered on “all candled things.”

Oct 5, 2026

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