Title:
The gift : how the creative spirit transforms the world
Author:
Added Author:
Publication Date:
2019
Publication Information:
New York : Vintage Books, 2019.
Physical Description:
xxxix, 435 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
ISBN:
9781984897787
Abstract:
"A modern classic cherished by many of the greatest artists of our time, The Gift is a brilliant, life-changing defense of the value of creative labor. Drawing on examples from folklore and literature, history and tribal customs, economics and modern copyright law, Lewis Hyde demonstrates how our society--governed by the marketplace--is poorly equipped to determine the worth of artists' work. He shows us that another way is possible: the alternative economy of the gift, which allows creations and ideas to circulate freely, rather than hoarding them as commodities. Illuminating and transformative, The Gift is a triumph of originality and insight--an essential book for anyone who has ever given or received a work of art."--Cover
Contents:
I.A theory of gifts : Some food we could not eat -- The bones of the dead -- The labor of gratitude -- The bond -- The gift community -- A female property -- Usury : a history of gift exchange -- II. Two experiments in gift aesthetics : The commerce of the creative spirit -- A draft of Whitman -- Ezra Pound and the fate of vegetable money -- Conclusion -- On being good ancestors.
Language:
English
