Of Bridges
eBook - ePub

Of Bridges

A Poetic and Philosophical Account

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Of Bridges

A Poetic and Philosophical Account

About this book

Offers a philosophical history of bridges—both literal bridges and their symbolic counterparts—and the acts of cultural connection they embody.

"Always," wrote Philip Larkin, "it is by bridges that we live." Bridges represent our aspirations to connect, to soar across divides. And it is the unfinished business of these aspirations that makes bridges such stirring sights, especially when they are marvels of ingenuity.

A rich compendium of myths, superstitions, and literary and ideological figurations, Of Bridges organizes a poetic and philosophical history of bridges into nine thematic clusters. Leaping in lucid prose between distant times and places, Thomas Harrison questions why bridges are built and where they lead. He probes links forged by religion between life's transience and eternity as well as the consolidating ties of music, illustrated by the case of the blues. He investigates bridges in poetry, as flash points in war, and the megabridges of our globalized world. He illuminates real and symbolic crossings facing migrants each day and the affective connections that make persons and societies cohere. In readings of literature, film, philosophy, and art, Harrison engages in a profound reflection on how bridges form and transform cultural communities. Of Bridges is a mesmerizing, vertiginous tale of bridges both visible and invisible, both lived and imagined.

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Yes, you can access Of Bridges by Thomas Harrison in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Littérature & Histoire du monde. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. List of Illustrations
  6. Introduction
  7. 1: The Great Bridge-Building of God
  8. 2: Living on the Bridge
  9. 3: Musical Bridges
  10. 4: Bridge Brothers and Foes
  11. 5: Word Bridges
  12. 6: The Bridge as Gallows
  13. 7: Nietzsche’s Bridges
  14. 8: Sea Bridges and Selves
  15. 9: Bridged Disconnection
  16. Plates
  17. Acknowledgments
  18. Notes
  19. Bibliography
  20. Index