TEHRAN – French philosopher Georges Bataille’s book “Literature and Evil” has recently been published in Persian in Tehran.

Sibe Sorkh is the publisher of the book translated into Persian by Farzad Karimi.

”Literature is not innocent,” Bataille declares in the preface to this unique collection of literary profiles. “It is guilty and should admit itself so.” 

The word, the flesh, and the devil are explored by this extraordinary intellect in the work of eight outstanding authors: Emily Bronte, Baudelaire, Blake, Michelet, Kafka, Proust, Genet and De Sade.

Born in France in 1897, Georges Bataille was a radical philosopher, novelist and critic whose writings continue to exert a vital influence on today's literature and thought.

Often called the “metaphysician of evil”, Bataille was interested in sex, death, degradation, and the power and potential of the obscene. 

He rejected traditional literature and considered that the ultimate aim of all intellectual, artistic, or religious activity should be the annihilation of the rational individual in a violent, transcendental act of communion. 

Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva and Philippe Sollers have all written enthusiastically about his work.

Photo: Cover of the Persian translation of French philosopher Georges Bataille’s book “Literature and Evil”.

MMS/YAW