Spiritual Problems in Contemporary Literature [antikvár]

PREFACE TO THE TORCHBOOK EDITIONOne of the most heartening appraisals of this book when first published (1952) was that of Theodore M. Greene, who said of it in The New Yor\ Times Boo\ Review (February 15, 1953): "Most published symposia are disappointing; this collection of eighteen essays is a notable exception. I wish it could be read, and reread, by thoughtful men and women in every walk of life. It is a most illuminating commentary on modern literature in our contemporary societyon the predicament, and the failures and achievements of the writer, but alsó on our cultural situation, our spiritual hazards and opportunities. It is in the best sense a civilized and civilizing volume." This captures very well what the symposium aims at; it is only important to add that the essays have lost nothing of their relevance since 1953indeed, their pertinence is sharpened by the interval and by the increasing demand for competent studies which explore and unfold the relation of literature to the deeper under-standing of our inmost concerns.For this reason it has seemed to me undesirable to tamper with the text in any basic way. The Foreword indicates the origin of the essays and the circumstances under which they were first presented. Unfortunately the manuscripts of Mr. Philip Rahv and Professor Meyer Schapiro, both of whom spoke in the originál lecture series, were unavailable for inclusion in the published symposium. On the other hand, I was fortunately a delegate to the International Confer-ence on Christianity and Art, at the Ecumenical Institute, Chateau de Bossey, Celigny, Switzerland, in May, 1950, where M. Denis de Rougemont presented his superb paper on "The Mission of Art as a Creative Expression of the Humán Spirit"a paper which coin-