William Rowlandson Libri

The book delves into the philosophical insights of Sartre as he interacts with the Cuban Revolution, examining how his existentialist ideas influenced and were influenced by this pivotal historical event. It highlights his reflections on freedom, revolution, and the individual's role within a collective movement, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of philosophy and political activism. Through analysis of Sartre's writings and public statements, the text provides a nuanced understanding of his commitment to social change during a transformative period in history.

William Rowlandson offers a brief but deep-reaching study of Argentine short story writer Jorge Luis Borges's appreciation of Emanuel Swedenborg, showing the Swedish visionary's influence on Borges's writing.

Jorge Luis Borges was profoundly interested in the ill-defined and shape-shifting traditions of mysticism. However, previous studies of Borges have not focused on the writer’s close interest in mysticism and mystical texts, especially in the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). This book examines the relationship between Borges’ own recorded mystical experiences and his appraisal of Swedenborg and other mystics. It asks the essential question of whether Borges was a mystic by analysing his writings, including short stories, essays, poems and interviews, alongside scholarly writings on mysticism by figures such as William James. The book locates Borges within the scholarship of mysticism by evaluating his many assertions and suggestions as to what is or is not a mystic and, in so doing, analyses the influence of James and Ralph Waldo Emerson on Borges’ reading of Swedenborg and mysticism. The author argues further that Swedenborg constitutes a far richer presence in Borges’ work than scholarship has hitherto acknowledged, and assesses the presence of Swedenborg in Borges’ aesthetics, ethics and poetics.

This book focuses on the novel Paradiso of Cuban author José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), and in particular on the protagonist José Cemí. It examines the development of Cemí according to the three distinct phases detailed by Lezama: the ‘placentario’ world of family protection, the awakening to the exterior world and the subsequent friendships made, and the eventual encounters with Oppiano Licario. Cemí’s progression, and his growing ability to interpret and create texts, is analysed as analogous to the reader’s progression through the novel. In this respect, both the reader and Cemí are obliged to interpret the complex symbolism according to interpretative skills acquired from the text itself. In a similar fashion, the connection between Cemí’s ‘guide’ Licario, and the author Lezama is investigated. By exploring these connections between reader and protagonist, author and character, the author of this work suggests a radical and hitherto unexplored approach to the text of Lezama.