CONRAD AIKEN'S PHILOSOPHY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

About the Book

This book explicates the philosophical unity that underlies Conrad Aiken’s long poems written between 1915 and 1963. It explains Aiken’s philosophy of consciousness, the various types and phases of consciousness as it evolves in each individual, as well as the special challenges and solutions faced at each stage. This study shows how Aiken integrates such diverse philosophical infl uences as Heraclitus, Hume, Kant, Hegel, and Schopenhauer into a coherent whole. He does so, not by abstract explanations but by illustrating the implications of his philosophy for outwardly ordinary lives – the eros-maddened lover, the pathological liar, the disloyal husband, the man refl ecting on the nature and role of evil. Aiken achieves this synthesis in a series of long poems that range in mood from the mockingly morbid and perverse to fl ights of lyrical rapture and the most profound meditation. The style of his poems tends to be more traditional than that of his friend T.S. Eliot. The lyrical beauty of his work provides a rich and satisfying reading experience.

About the Author

Ian Kluge, who taught high school English, history and drama for 26 years, is a playwright, poet and independent scholar living with his wife and three of their four children in Prince George, British Columbia. Three books of his poetry have been published, and several of his plays produced, among them "Homage to Kurt Schwitters", "Heraclitus Reborn" "Murder on the Old BX" and a musical, "When the Pie Was Opened." He edits an on-line journal dedicated to studying the works of the American poet Conrad Aiken, and has written two books on Aiken, "Conrad Aiken's Philosophy of Consciousness" and "A Reader's Guide to Conrad Aiken's 'Preludes for Memnon' ". His studies on Baha'i philosophy and Aristotle, Heidegger, Marcel, Whitehead and de Chardin have also been published. For relaxation, he lifts weights, and enjoys classical and country music as well as international travel.