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In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

The quest romance is at its best when the outward journey reflects the seeker's inner landscape, and even better when it is rooted in a reality we can relate to, as it is in Richard Collins's memoir, In Search of the Hermaphrodite. As a young Fulbright scholar, the author set out to do academic research in the libraries and museums of Britain and Europe. Forty years later, the author, like Proust, goes in search of the time lost during that unfinished project. His research subject had ostensibly been the figure of the hermaphrodite in art and literature; however, in the pubs and bedrooms of Europe, he comes to discover a world of love and longing beyond art, so that it becomes obvious that the real object of his obscure desire is to be found within himself.

The romance of this quest takes a picaresque turn because this is no story of medieval errant knighthood but rather the confessions of a flawed and erring narrator firmly and frankly exploring the sensuous reality of the here and now. The book's generous illustrations give readers a taste of the wide range of art and literature, ancient and modern, that guides the author in his quest-not for a holy grail or a philosopher's stone-but for the meaning of a life thoroughly and truthfully examined from every angle-intellectually, sexually, and spiritually. Erudite without pedantry, Collins's search for the hermaphrodite is as entertaining as it is enlightening.

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In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

The quest romance is at its best when the outward journey reflects the seeker's inner landscape, and even better when it is rooted in a reality we can relate to, as it is in Richard Collins's memoir, In Search of the Hermaphrodite. As a young Fulbright scholar, the author set out to do academic research in the libraries and museums of Britain and Europe. Forty years later, the author, like Proust, goes in search of the time lost during that unfinished project. His research subject had ostensibly been the figure of the hermaphrodite in art and literature; however, in the pubs and bedrooms of Europe, he comes to discover a world of love and longing beyond art, so that it becomes obvious that the real object of his obscure desire is to be found within himself.

The romance of this quest takes a picaresque turn because this is no story of medieval errant knighthood but rather the confessions of a flawed and erring narrator firmly and frankly exploring the sensuous reality of the here and now. The book's generous illustrations give readers a taste of the wide range of art and literature, ancient and modern, that guides the author in his quest-not for a holy grail or a philosopher's stone-but for the meaning of a life thoroughly and truthfully examined from every angle-intellectually, sexually, and spiritually. Erudite without pedantry, Collins's search for the hermaphrodite is as entertaining as it is enlightening.

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In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

by Richard Collins
In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir

by Richard Collins

Overview

The quest romance is at its best when the outward journey reflects the seeker's inner landscape, and even better when it is rooted in a reality we can relate to, as it is in Richard Collins's memoir, In Search of the Hermaphrodite. As a young Fulbright scholar, the author set out to do academic research in the libraries and museums of Britain and Europe. Forty years later, the author, like Proust, goes in search of the time lost during that unfinished project. His research subject had ostensibly been the figure of the hermaphrodite in art and literature; however, in the pubs and bedrooms of Europe, he comes to discover a world of love and longing beyond art, so that it becomes obvious that the real object of his obscure desire is to be found within himself.

The romance of this quest takes a picaresque turn because this is no story of medieval errant knighthood but rather the confessions of a flawed and erring narrator firmly and frankly exploring the sensuous reality of the here and now. The book's generous illustrations give readers a taste of the wide range of art and literature, ancient and modern, that guides the author in his quest-not for a holy grail or a philosopher's stone-but for the meaning of a life thoroughly and truthfully examined from every angle-intellectually, sexually, and spiritually. Erudite without pedantry, Collins's search for the hermaphrodite is as entertaining as it is enlightening.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798218445270
Publisher: Tough Poets Press
Publication date: 09/24/2024
Pages: 280
Product dimensions: 5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Richard Collins was born in Oregon and grew up in Southern California, earning degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of California, Irvine. He has taught at universities in the U.S., Wales, Romania, and Bulgaria, and is Dean Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at California State University, Bakersfield. His critical essays cover a range of authors from Wilkie Collins and Ronald Firbank to Yannis Ritsos and Lafcadio Hearn, James Merrill and Andrei Codrescu. His poetry and creative nonfiction appear in dozens of literary magazines. His books include translations from the French, as well as John Fante: A Literary Portrait (Guernica Editions) and No Fear Zen: Discovering Balance in an Unbalanced World (Hohm Press). An ordained Zen monk, he is abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple and Stone Nest Dojo in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and two dogs.
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