Want to know what books Edmund de Waal recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Edmund de Waal's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
Matsuo Basho, Nobuyuki Yuasa | 4.31
In later life Basho turned to Zen Buddhism, and the travel sketched in this volume relfect his attempts to cast off earthly attachments and reach out to spiritual fulfillment. The sketches are written in the "haibun" style--a linking of verse and prose. The title piece, in particular, reveals Basho striving to discover a vision of eternity in the transient world around him and his personal evocation of the mysteries of the universe. more In later life Basho turned to Zen Buddhism, and the travel sketched in this volume relfect his attempts to cast off earthly attachments and reach out to spiritual fulfillment. The sketches are written in the "haibun" style--a linking of verse and prose. The title piece, in particular, reveals Basho striving to discover a vision of eternity in the transient world around him and his personal evocation of the mysteries of the universe. less 
Edmund de WaalHe was a 17th century haiku poet, and this is the record of his journey through the Japanese countryside. It’s a very beautiful travelogue. (Source)
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2
This definitive poetry collection, originally published in 1954 to honor Stevens on his 75th birthday, contains:
- "Harmonium"
- "Ideas of Order"
- "The Man With the Blue Guitar"
- "Parts of the World"
- "Transport Summer"
- "The Auroras of Autumn"
- "The Rock" more This definitive poetry collection, originally published in 1954 to honor Stevens on his 75th birthday, contains:
- "Harmonium"
- "Ideas of Order"
- "The Man With the Blue Guitar"
- "Parts of the World"
- "Transport Summer"
- "The Auroras of Autumn"
- "The Rock" less Edmund de WaalIf I had to pick a book of poems for my desert island, I would probably end up with Wallace Stevens. (Source)
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3
W.G. Sebald, James Wood | 4.07
This tenth anniversary edition of W. G. Sebald’s celebrated masterpiece includes a new Introduction by acclaimed critic James Wood. Austerlitz is the story of a man’s search for the answer to his life’s central riddle. A small child when he comes to England on a Kindertransport in the summer of 1939, Jacques Austerlitz is told nothing of his real family by the Welsh Methodist minister and his wife who raise him. When he is a much older man, fleeting memories return to him, and obeying an instinct he only dimly understands, Austerlitz follows their trail back to the world he left... more This tenth anniversary edition of W. G. Sebald’s celebrated masterpiece includes a new Introduction by acclaimed critic James Wood. Austerlitz is the story of a man’s search for the answer to his life’s central riddle. A small child when he comes to England on a Kindertransport in the summer of 1939, Jacques Austerlitz is told nothing of his real family by the Welsh Methodist minister and his wife who raise him. When he is a much older man, fleeting memories return to him, and obeying an instinct he only dimly understands, Austerlitz follows their trail back to the world he left behind a half century before. There, faced with the void at the heart of twentieth-century Europe, he struggles to rescue his heritage from oblivion. less Edmund de WaalAusterlitz is an incredibly beautiful book. Sebald was a really interesting German writer, and I think this is his masterpiece. He blows away genre. (Source)
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4
Studies on contemporary art and culture by one of the most original, critical and analytical minds of this century. Illuminations includes Benjamin's views on Kafka, with whom he felt the closest personal affinity, his studies on Baudelaire and Proust (both of whom he translated), his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's Epic Theater.
Also included are his penetrating study on "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," an illuminating discussion of translation as a literary mode, and his thesis on the philosophy of history. Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this... more Studies on contemporary art and culture by one of the most original, critical and analytical minds of this century. Illuminations includes Benjamin's views on Kafka, with whom he felt the closest personal affinity, his studies on Baudelaire and Proust (both of whom he translated), his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's Epic Theater.
Also included are his penetrating study on "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," an illuminating discussion of translation as a literary mode, and his thesis on the philosophy of history. Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this volume and prefaces them with a substantial, admirably informed introduction that presents Benjamin's personality and intellectual development, as well as his work and his life in dark times. Reflections the companion volume to this book, is also available as a Schocken paperback.
Unpacking My Library, 1931
The Task of the Translator, 1913
The Storyteller, 1936
Franz Kafka, 1934
Some Reflections on Kafka, 1938
What Is Epic Theater?, 1939
On Some Motifs in Baudelaire, 1939
The Image of Proust, 1929
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1936
Theses on the Philosophy of History, written 1940, pub. 1950 less Edmund de WaalIt’s a meditation on history, a meditation on philosophy, a meditation on collecting and an autobiography as well. (Source)
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5
This now famous book was the first treatise to be written by a potter on the workshop traditions handed down by Koreans and Japanese from the greatest period of Chinese ceramics in the Sung dynasty. It deals with four types of pottery: Japanese raku, English slipware, stoneware and oriental porcelain. With its help, potters can learn how to adapt recipes for pigments and glazes, and designs of kilns, to local conditions. It gives a vivid workshop picture of the making of a kiln-load of pots from start to finish, and is eloquent on the position of the individual or artist-potter in an... more This now famous book was the first treatise to be written by a potter on the workshop traditions handed down by Koreans and Japanese from the greatest period of Chinese ceramics in the Sung dynasty. It deals with four types of pottery: Japanese raku, English slipware, stoneware and oriental porcelain. With its help, potters can learn how to adapt recipes for pigments and glazes, and designs of kilns, to local conditions. It gives a vivid workshop picture of the making of a kiln-load of pots from start to finish, and is eloquent on the position of the individual or artist-potter in an industrial age. It is a book that is primarily intended for practical craftsmen and students, but it also has a strong appeal for all lovers of ceramics and for everyone with an interest in cultural interchange between East and West.
less Edmund de WaalIncredibly important because of its ability to allow any reader who picks it up to understand the excitement and energy of the making of pots. (Source)
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