Antonin Artaud and the Healing Practices of Language

Visser's Deleuzian reading of Artaud's late writings comes as a revelation. What might seem a madman's ravings prove in Visser's analysis to be profound meditations on the power of language to foster genuine thought and generate new relations between humans and the natural world. Visser argues that Artaud deploys a 'zoological language, ' one that engages the life of zoe and thereby makes possible what Deleuze calls 'belief in this world.' This is an insightful, compelling and original study of signal importance. --Ronald Bogue, Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia, USA Visser's analysis of Artaud's religious preoccupations is a highly original, against-the-grain and even perverse one - and all the more persuasive and valuable for that. --Stephen Barber, Professor of Art History, Kingston University, UK, and author of of Antonin Artaud: Blows and Bombs and translator of A Sinister Assassin: Artaud's Last Writings This original study opens illuminating perspectives on the life and work of the iconic yet controversial figure of Artaud. Adopting a materialist approach inspired by an affirmative ethics of becoming, Visser undoes the pathological readings of Artaud's life and literature and contextualizes it within the fundamentally schizophrenic structure of capitalism. With emphasis on the concepts of immanence and vital matter, this remarkable book invites us to rediscover the infinite capacities of embodied subjects to recompose an active and joyous life, even through pain. A welcome antidote against the hardship and negativity of our times. --Rosi Braidotti, Distinguished University Professor, Utrecht University, the Netherlands