Death and the Labyrinth

Death and the Labyrinth is unique, being Foucault's only work on literature. For Foucault this was "by far the book I wrote most easily and with the greatest pleasure". Here, Foucault explores theory, criticism and psychology through the texts of Raymond Roussel, one of the fathers of experimental writing, whose work has been celebrated by the likes of Cocteau, Duchamp, Breton, Robbe Grillet, Gide and Giacometti.

This revised edition includes an introduction, chronology and bibliography to Foucault's work by James Faubion, an interview with Foucault, conducted only nine months before his death, and concludes with an essay on Roussel by the poet John Ashbery.

In his only work on literature, 20th-century French philosopher Foucault explores theory, criticism, and psychology through the texts of Roussel, one of the fathers of experimental writing. The French original was published in 1963 by Gallimard; the English translation in 1986 by Doubleday. This edition includes a new introduction by James Faubion (anthropology, Rice U.) and an interview with Foucault shortly before he died. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a French philosopher and widely recognised as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the 20th Century.

James Faubion is at Rice University, USA.

Charles Ruas is the translator of Death and the Labyrinth.