Philosophy

The Poetics of Space

The Poetics of Space

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  • Create Date：2022-04-19 10:53:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Gaston Bachelard
  • ISBN：0143107526
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Summary

Beloved and contemplated by philosophers， architects， writers， and literary theorists alike， Bachelard's lyrical， landmark work examines the places in which we place our conscious and unconscious thoughts and guides us through a stream of cerebral meditations on poetry， art， and the blooming of consciousness itself。

Houses and rooms; cellars and attics; drawers， chests and wardrobes; nests and shells; nooks and corners: no space is too vast or too small to be filled by our thoughts and our reveries。

With an introduction by acclaimed philosopher Richard Kearney and a foreword by author Mark Z。 Danielewski。

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Reviews

g ✰ ，

gosh… a book that has the same vibes as that Disneyland ride … journey into inner space。 It split me open in a sense， and I couldn’t stop reading this， even if it took a bit longer to digest。 this is a book about architecture for people who don’t really want to apply anything they learn to architecture， a philosophy book that doesn’t really make any philosophical claims， and psychoanalysis for people who hate Freud。 I loved it <3

Tony ，

I give this book a one if I'm reading it on my own。 A four if I'm reading and rating it in the midst of my book club friends。 But today， right now， I give it a 3。 Because it's 11pm on a Wednesday and I'm walking home alone and none of my friends love me。 I give this book a one if I'm reading it on my own。 A four if I'm reading and rating it in the midst of my book club friends。 But today， right now， I give it a 3。 Because it's 11pm on a Wednesday and I'm walking home alone and none of my friends love me。 。。。more

Nazmiye Rasimoglu ，

Sevgiyle ve yavaşça okudum。 Bir kitapta derinleşmeyi ve etrafı unutmayı， anlatılanlarla hayal kurmayı denedim。 İçtenliği， yaklaşımı， dili， konusu beni çok etkiledi。 İyi ki okudum。

Allie Gustafson ，

“Call it a calculus of emotional continuity or a music that will only the grieving can know because they chose to carry on: what warms the hearth long after catastrophe has razed both hearth and home” - Foreword“ for the corner denies the Palace， dust denies marble， and worn objects deny splendor and luxury。 The dreamer in his corner wrote off the world in a detailed daydream that destroyed， one by one， all the objects in the world”

gøkhan kiyici ，

bir şair ister mikroskopla ister teleskopla baksın， hep aynı şeyi görür。

Marie ，

❤

Allie ，

Place is cool。 Bachelard is cool。 Reading this book is cool。

Owlseyes ，

https://www。cbc。ca/radio/ideas/room-w。。。 https://www。cbc。ca/radio/ideas/room-w。。。 。。。more

Cuauhtemoc Moreno ，

Transcendent A unique perspective on the mind and soul as they inhabit the world。A bit of a dense read， but artistically life-changing。

savannah ，

no rating because i only understood half of it but it was super interesting

Ignatius Quilabrán ，

Me recomendaron este libro en 2016， pude comprarlo en 2017 y al fin termino de leerlo， con incontables pausas， en 2022。 Bachelard analiza de qué manera se presentan diversos espacios en textos literarios y qué significado e importancia suelen cobrar， llegando a conclusiones interesantes， sin duda， pero de manera bastante antojadiza y soporífera， aún bajo un marco supuestamente "fenomenológico" que no es más que pura divagación。 Me recomendaron este libro en 2016， pude comprarlo en 2017 y al fin termino de leerlo， con incontables pausas， en 2022。 Bachelard analiza de qué manera se presentan diversos espacios en textos literarios y qué significado e importancia suelen cobrar， llegando a conclusiones interesantes， sin duda， pero de manera bastante antojadiza y soporífera， aún bajo un marco supuestamente "fenomenológico" que no es más que pura divagación。 。。。more

Fede ，

Now I know I'll never be happy until I move into Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Fallingwater'。 And even then， I'm going to need LOTS of Marcel Breuer armchairs and quite a few Artemide Reeds to start feeling good。 This book is well written， but I don't get WHY it was written。 In other words， I wonder what it's supposed to mean。 Now I know I'll never be happy until I move into Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Fallingwater'。 And even then， I'm going to need LOTS of Marcel Breuer armchairs and quite a few Artemide Reeds to start feeling good。 This book is well written， but I don't get WHY it was written。 In other words， I wonder what it's supposed to mean。 。。。more

my good bitch ，

I just… don’t think I can read phenomenology anymore。 Too much trauma brain to take it all in properly。 Plus， the meandering writing made it difficult to read as well。 I wish there was more focus on the house and not nests and shells and corners。

Kevin ，

Delightful。 A book lover’s book that is to be sipped and savored， not chugged， quaffed， or simply absorbed。 This phenomenologist of the imagination， this dream whisperer and doodling Picasso， is an optometrist of perception capable of nudging our attention away from well worn ruts of calculative thinking， to redeem a sense of childlike wonderment at the mundane。 In reading this I know why Benjamin loved children’s books， and why a teaspoon of enchantment is worth a pound of dialectical mediation Delightful。 A book lover’s book that is to be sipped and savored， not chugged， quaffed， or simply absorbed。 This phenomenologist of the imagination， this dream whisperer and doodling Picasso， is an optometrist of perception capable of nudging our attention away from well worn ruts of calculative thinking， to redeem a sense of childlike wonderment at the mundane。 In reading this I know why Benjamin loved children’s books， and why a teaspoon of enchantment is worth a pound of dialectical mediation。 So dim your critical filter， curl up in a safe， quiet place， and Bachelard will sing a song of fancy that will nourish your senses if not your soul。 A final note。 Most of the copious references drawn from in this book are from French literature， though a lack of familiarity here need not detract from the sort of impression I am describing。 In a way my own lack of facility here made the experience of following Bachelard the more enchanting for this， and perhaps even a bit clearer， if less evocative， overall。 。。。more

Keen ，

I have never watched the Peanuts cartoon in French， but I dare say if I did the teacher would sound a bit like Monsieur Bachelard’s tone and approach。 The content within this book falls somewhere messily between the ramblings of a down on his luck shaman， and a drug addled poet spouting esoteric jibberish over cheap pints at the student union。 He certainly gets excitable about his ideas and initially that can be quite infectious， but that soon wanes。 Bachelard leans fairly heavily on psychoanaly I have never watched the Peanuts cartoon in French， but I dare say if I did the teacher would sound a bit like Monsieur Bachelard’s tone and approach。 The content within this book falls somewhere messily between the ramblings of a down on his luck shaman， and a drug addled poet spouting esoteric jibberish over cheap pints at the student union。 He certainly gets excitable about his ideas and initially that can be quite infectious， but that soon wanes。 Bachelard leans fairly heavily on psychoanalysis， particularly on the work of Jung， and he also goes on and on about Rilke， Baudelaire， Thoreau quoting liberally from these guys in the belief that this passes for his own work？。。。We get a lot of chat about topoanalysis， phenomenology and poetry， but when all is said and done it’s incredibly hard to get very excited about any of this。 He takes what are really elementary metaphors and does very little with any of them？。。。The best I can say about this is that， that eh？。。。I suppose it’s not too long？。。。Either way I just don’t see anything remotely original or insightful in this， and I would say that this is a fine case of meaningless mediocrity， posturing as profundity。 。。。more

Andrew ，

This is a most amazing and unique book， and I haven't yet come across a blurb or category that adequately describes it。 First published in French in 1958 （English 1964）， it was written by a guy who started out as a village postman and ended up being an honorary professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne （which sort of tells you something about the scope of the book）。 Essentially it's an exploration of the spaces we inhabit and the dynamics of those spaces， not as mere metaphors but as images （as fo This is a most amazing and unique book， and I haven't yet come across a blurb or category that adequately describes it。 First published in French in 1958 （English 1964）， it was written by a guy who started out as a village postman and ended up being an honorary professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne （which sort of tells you something about the scope of the book）。 Essentially it's an exploration of the spaces we inhabit and the dynamics of those spaces， not as mere metaphors but as images （as found in and generated by the imagination） that have oneiric （dreamlike） qualities。 In the tradition of the likes of Jung， these dreamlike qualities tie them to the primal core of being human （ie ontology）。 The reference point for study is the work of poets who， through daydreaming （or contemplation）， bring forth these deep images。 In the book， Bachelard functions as a phenomenologist - ie one who looks at phenomena - the actual experience of the thing。 While it is clear that psychoanalysis forms part of the milieu of the work， he constantly champions phenomenology over psychoanalysis for being expansive rather than reductionist。 I think that sort of covers it， but he heads off in all kinds of directions that take his fancy - a reverie （to reference one of his own concepts） of exploration。 Poetic in its own right and warm-hearted。 One moment homely， the next complex to a degree that lost me。 I like books that walk those types of landscapes。。。 that provide a space for you and also ask you to reach beyond your default cognitions。 His themes though - my oh my。。。 such things as the miniature， interior spaces in storms， the dialectics of inside and outside， and this phrase: intimate immensity。 So wonderful to me and the safe little world theme that I explore in my own creative work。 Talk about accessing the core of my own little ontology。 At times an easy， pure pleasure to read， at times a frustration to comprehension， it had sat beckoning me from the shelf for over three years。 I had a hunch it was going to be good and I think it'll now be one of my personal classics。 。。。more

london frog ，

Extremely schizophrenic book， meditations on craft and how we react to it。 the answer is poetry， according to bachelard。。 Reminds me of a quote in Walter Benjamin's illuminations， by Paul Valery- "This patient process of nature， was once imitated by men。 Miniatures， ivory carvings， elaborated to the point of greatest perfection， stones that are perfect in polish and engraving， lacquer work or painting in which a series of thin， transparent layers are placed on top of the other- all these product Extremely schizophrenic book， meditations on craft and how we react to it。 the answer is poetry， according to bachelard。。 Reminds me of a quote in Walter Benjamin's illuminations， by Paul Valery- "This patient process of nature， was once imitated by men。 Miniatures， ivory carvings， elaborated to the point of greatest perfection， stones that are perfect in polish and engraving， lacquer work or painting in which a series of thin， transparent layers are placed on top of the other- all these products of sustained， sacrificing effort are vanishing and the time is past in which time did not matter。 Modern man no longer works at what cannot be abbreviated。" 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

Probably would need to read this book 100 more times to be able to grasp or even begin processing much of its content

su ，

read only relevant chapters for me but overall very interesting work

j ，

If you have lived somewhere you should read this。

Arieas Woodard ，

Definitely a book you could reread a few times。 It was a bit challenging for me at times， but I grew as I flipped pages。 Actually excited to go again。

Ygraine ，

i think i managed to delete my old 2017 review at some point， but life goes on ！ i re-read the chapter on shells in january， after going out to the sea on new year's day & combing the beach fr interesting seashells -- i have thought fr Years abt the passage of bernard palissy bachelard quotes， "when the masonry is finished， i want to cover it with several layers of enameling， from the top of the vaulted ceiling down to the floor。 this done， i should like to build a big fire in it 。。。 until the a i think i managed to delete my old 2017 review at some point， but life goes on ！ i re-read the chapter on shells in january， after going out to the sea on new year's day & combing the beach fr interesting seashells -- i have thought fr Years abt the passage of bernard palissy bachelard quotes， "when the masonry is finished， i want to cover it with several layers of enameling， from the top of the vaulted ceiling down to the floor。 this done， i should like to build a big fire in it 。。。 until the aforesaid enameling has melted and coated the aforesaid masonry" and bachelard's response to it， "here a man wants to live in a shell。 he wants the walls that protect him to be as smoothly polished and as firm as if his sensitive flesh had to come in direct contact with them。 the shell confers a daydream of purely physical intimacy。 [palissy's] daydream expresses the function of inhabiting in terms of touch" ？ i have daydreamed about the pearlescent pinkness and the vaulted， spiraling ceiling of living inside a shell since i was v small ？ and now i've re-read the rest， although in a very lovingly haphazard way， because i read the opening stanzas of thomas hardy's 'old furniture' and it reminded me of this passage i thought about a Lot while writing my first dissertation:"objects that are cherished in this way really are born of an intimate light， and they attain to a higher degree of reality than indifferent objects， or those that are defined by geometric reality。 for they produce a new reality of being and they take their place not only in an order but in a community of order。 from one object in a room to another， housewifely care weaves the ties that unite a very ancient past to the new epoch。 the housewife awakens furniture that was asleep。"also， have just been doing a lot of houseish reading recently， and was finding some little parallels with the house in norham gardens:"it seemed to her that the house itself， silent around her， was a huge head， packed with events and experiences and conversations。 and she was part of them， something the house was storing up， like people store each other up。 drifting into sleep， she imagined words lying around the place like bricks， all the things people had said to each other here， piled up in the rooms like the columns of books and papers in the library， and she wandered around among them， pushing through them， jostled by them。" （lively）"he experiences the house in its reality and in its virtuality， by means of thought and dreams。 it is no longer in its positive aspects that the house is really 'lived，' nor is it only in the passing hour that we recognise its benefits。 an entire past comes to dwell in a new house [。。。] if i were asked to name the chief benefit of the house， i should say: the house shelters day-dreaming， the house protects the dreamer， the house allows one to dream in peace。" （bachelard）i just feel like most of this book is In My Brain Forever Now， comfortably & gladly。 。。。more

Basma Juma ，

كنت أبحث في اللغة عن الصدمةفوجدتني بعد هذا الكتاب أبحث عن أعمق المعاني في أبسط الصور。كتاب سيغير نظرتك للأدب وربما للحياة。

yuefei ，

[Central Saint Martins， University of the Arts London Library]

Arda ÖS ，

En okunabilir sanat felsefesi kitabı。 Özellikle şiir ve şairlere yaptığı vurguları görmek beni çok sevindirdi çünkü hepsi son derece yerindeydi。

Julie ，

thought it'd be about design。。 SIKE it's actually a philosophy book thought it'd be about design。。 SIKE it's actually a philosophy book 。。。more

Hayden Berg ，

It seems completely irrelevant to rate my experience of this book on a five star scale （more than usual， that is）。 My experience of this book has not been singular。 I read this book over the course of the last 5 months， a chapter at a time， alongside a group of other folks who met weekly to discuss it。At times， I was frustrated。 Bachelard's language is so difficult to track at times， often I would be wondering about the implicit meanings lying behind his claims when I really ought to have been t It seems completely irrelevant to rate my experience of this book on a five star scale （more than usual， that is）。 My experience of this book has not been singular。 I read this book over the course of the last 5 months， a chapter at a time， alongside a group of other folks who met weekly to discuss it。At times， I was frustrated。 Bachelard's language is so difficult to track at times， often I would be wondering about the implicit meanings lying behind his claims when I really ought to have been taking his claims at face value。 There were moments where I didn't agree and couldn't follow and I stand by those problems。 That being said， The Poetics of Space has challenged me to open my eyes to the world in new ways。 I read this book shortly after re-modeling and selling my childhood home and it helped me understand that experience in a new way。 I now have new and accurate language to understand the experiences of vastness， felicity， immensity， and the coziness of corners。One of the most profound bits of Bachelard's analysis that has stuck with me from the start actually helps explain my feelings about this book and my experience with it， specifically his remark that poems and texts function by "expressing us by making us what [they express]"。 I'm not walking away from this work in phenomenology with a deep understanding of the truths of the universe or a profound understanding of my place in the world， but I do feel like this book has become personally meaningful to me。 Between the pages are scribbled moments and images that connect me to the images Bachelard expresses。 When he talks about the familiar feel of doorknobs and latches in our childhood abodes， I have my own images; when he speaks of moments of vastness or corners of comfort， I've written and thought of my own。It is not a typical experience in reading philosophy， but I would certainly recommend it to anyone open to this type of phenomenological exploration。 。。。more

Cole Blouin ，

I liked some parts of it， I really liked some parts of it， there were parts of it I wasn't into。 When things are this Heideggerian but like a lot less technical， it can feel a lot less rigorous， although that might be a prejudice on my end。 The section on intimate immensity was great。 The part about roundness felt a little like gibberish， but maybe I just was ready for the book to be done at that point。 It's a classic of 20th century thought， so I don't know what to rate it， but next to the thin I liked some parts of it， I really liked some parts of it， there were parts of it I wasn't into。 When things are this Heideggerian but like a lot less technical， it can feel a lot less rigorous， although that might be a prejudice on my end。 The section on intimate immensity was great。 The part about roundness felt a little like gibberish， but maybe I just was ready for the book to be done at that point。 It's a classic of 20th century thought， so I don't know what to rate it， but next to the thinkers who have been huge for me - Deleuze， Heidegger， Adorno， Bergson - it feels like a 3。5-star effort。 Like， not earth-shattering， but competent。 Some nice ideas are contained within。 。。。more

Sophy H ，

This is a tough one to review。 Whilst the subject matter of this book is great， the writing of Bachelard is hard going， like ploughing through treacle at times。 The introductory chapter very nearly wrecked my swede！！ There are chapters of this title that are inspired， magnificent and truly a pleasure to read， whilst there are other chapters that feel like a repetitive， incoherent chore to get through。 The references to other writers and poets peppers the text with some literary delights。 Otherwi This is a tough one to review。 Whilst the subject matter of this book is great， the writing of Bachelard is hard going， like ploughing through treacle at times。 The introductory chapter very nearly wrecked my swede！！ There are chapters of this title that are inspired， magnificent and truly a pleasure to read， whilst there are other chapters that feel like a repetitive， incoherent chore to get through。 The references to other writers and poets peppers the text with some literary delights。 Otherwise this book wouldn't be one I'd return to at all。 It felt too much of a slog if I'm honest。 。。。more

Yaraa ，

کتابی در خصوص خانه و خیال[اگر خانه‌ برایتان نه صرفا یک سرپناه، که پناهگاه خاطرات و رویاها نیز هست، پیشنهاد می‌کنم مطالعه کنید。]خب، خود جناب باشلار می‌گوید این کتاب، با یک‌بار خواندن فهمیدنی نیست。 پس من نوشتن ریویوم را موکول می‌کنم به زمانی که کتاب را برای بار دوم، بعد از خوانشی خلاقانه، تمام کرده‌باشم。وحالا، به آوردن چند نقل قول از کتاب، و یک یادداشت کوتاه از خودم، که در خصوص خانه‌ایست که در آن بزرگ شدم، اکتفا می‌کنم:2。。。در این‌صورت اگر از من فایده‌ی خانه را بپرسند، خواهم گفت:« خانه پناه‌گاه روی کتابی در خصوص خانه و خیال[اگر خانه‌ برایتان نه صرفا یک سرپناه، که پناهگاه خاطرات و رویاها نیز هست، پیشنهاد می‌کنم مطالعه کنید。]خب، خود جناب باشلار می‌گوید این کتاب، با یک‌بار خواندن فهمیدنی نیست。 پس من نوشتن ریویوم را موکول می‌کنم به زمانی که کتاب را برای بار دوم، بعد از خوانشی خلاقانه، تمام کرده‌باشم。وحالا، به آوردن چند نقل قول از کتاب، و یک یادداشت کوتاه از خودم، که در خصوص خانه‌ایست که در آن بزرگ شدم، اکتفا می‌کنم:2。。。در این‌صورت اگر از من فایده‌ی خانه را بپرسند، خواهم گفت:« خانه پناه‌گاه رویاپردازی است。 خانه پشتیبان رویاپردازی است。 خانه به آدمی امکان می‌دهد که در آسودگی رویا بپردازد。 اندیشه و تجربه تنها ارزش‌های آدمی را نمی‌سازند بلکه ارزش‌های منوط به رویاپردازی نشان عمق انسانیت است。 رویاپردازی حتا شاخص شجاعت است؛ خوشنود به خویشتن خویش。 بنابراین مکان‌هایی که ما در آن رویا یافتن را تجربه کرده‌ایم، در رویایی تازه گردهم می‌آیند و بدین خاطر خاطرات ما، از ماواهای گذشته از طریق رویاپردازی دوباره زنده می‌شوند و این ماواهای گذشته در ما جاودانه می‌شوند。»3تمام فضای سپری‌شده در تنهایی برای ما رنگی از جاودانگی می‌گیرد، فضایی که در آن از تنهایی رنجیده‌ایم، لذت برده‌ایم، آرزو کرده و یا خلوت خود را ساخته‌ایم。4。。。 گفته‌اند خانه‌ای دلپذیر، زمستان را شاعرانه‌تر و زمستان فضای شاعرانه‌ی خانه را دوچندان می‌کند。 کلبه‌ای سپید بر کرانه‌ی دره‌ای کوچک، در پناه کوه‌ها نشسته‌است، گویی کوه‌ها آن را در برگرفته‌اند。1ما مدیون خانه‌ایم، بسیاری از خاطرات ما در خانه سکونت می‌یابند و اگر خانه اندکی استادانه بنا شود، اگر زیرزمینی داشته باشد و اتاق زیرشیروانی، کنجی و راهرویی، خاطرات ما پناهی می‌یابند که روشن‌تر به تصویر درآیند و همواره، در تمامی طول زندگی، با رویا بدان باز می‌گردیم。0（:خاطره نامه‌ی من و خانه‌ای که در آن بزرگ شدم）خانه‌ای که من در آن بزرگ شدم وبا من بزرگ شد، هیچ‌ خاطره‌ای در ذهن من ندارد。 هربار که بعد از مدت‌ها با او دیدار می‌کنم، هیچ لحظه‌ی برجسته‌ای رقم نمی‌خورد، که خانه هیچ برجستگی‌ای، هیچ گوشه و کناری برای ذخیره‌ی یادها ندارد و برای من، بیش از هرچیز یادآور فراموشی است。و از این بابت، باید از معماری سست و بی‌پشتوانه و ‌بی‌ایده‌ی کشوری که از سنت گذشته و به مدرنیته نرسیده، سپاسگزار بود。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Poetics of Space

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Poetics of Space&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Poetics of Space&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0