The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature

by Ayn Rand Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

Overview

In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned collection of essays, Ayn Rand throws new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again, Rand demonstrates her bold originality and her refusal to let popular catchphrases and conventional ideas define her sense of the truth.

In her ethics Ayn*Rand extolled the virtue of selfishness-and in her theory of art she was no less radical. Piercing the fog of mysticism and sentimentality that engulfs art, the essays in The Romantic Manifesto explain why, since time immemorial, man has created and consumed works of art.*Rand eloquently asserts that one cannot create art without infusing it with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy-even an attempt to withhold moral overtones only results in a deterministic or naturalistic message. Because the moral influence of art is inescapable, she argues, art should always strive to elevate the human spirit.

The Romantic Manifesto*takes its place beside*The Fountainhead*and*Atlas Shrugged*as one of the most important achievements of our time.

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2009 - AudioFile

This collection of essays is an aesthetic manifesto calling for a rebirth of romantic art and a systematic description of what the author believes is dysfunctional about modern aesthetics. Bernadette Dunne is a good match for Rand's voice, delivering the novelist's passionate convictions with a metered cadence. Dunne's clear conveyance of Rand's essays is important because her ideas are quite controversial. Dunne’s voice has an empirical and authoritative tone that demands a full and concise hearing. This is a great feat considering the author is attempting to debunk most of the art movements since Romanticism as self-serving, purposeless, and superficial. This is a thought-provoking listen if one is interested in discovering the rigid philosophies behind Rand's iconic novels. L.P. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169805963
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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