{"product_id":"2026200017472-secondhand-writers-politics-essays-and-criticisms","title":"Writers \u0026 Politics: Essays And Criticisms","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Yellowed\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the volatile intersection of literature and political power, Conor Cruise O'Brien's Writers \u0026amp; Politics stands as a landmark collection of essays that refuses to separate the life of the mind from the life of the state. The Irish diplomat, historian, and critic trains his formidable intellect on a remarkable cast of twentieth-century literary figures — from Baldwin, Orwell, and Camus to Yeats, Synge, Joyce, and Sartre — dissecting the ways in which their art was shaped by, and in turn shaped, the political currents of their era. O'Brien also turns his gaze toward institutions and ideologies, scrutinizing the United Nations, anti-communism, and the fraught case of Whittaker Chambers with the same unflinching rigour he applies to literature.\n\nWhat distinguishes this collection is O'Brien's rare capacity to write as both an insider — a man who has wielded political power himself — and as a literary critic of the highest order, producing prose that is lucid, combative, and intellectually alive on every page. Originally published in 1965, the volume remains a touchstone for anyone grappling with the question of whether a writer can ever truly stand apart from the political world. In an age still debating the responsibilities of the intellectual, O'Brien's arguments feel not merely relevant but urgent — a challenge to every reader who has ever believed that art exists in a realm beyond consequence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49210276905179,"sku":"2026200017472-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/0edc8e7a-5107-40cc-94d2-c9abf8b05234.png?v=1788268570","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200017472-secondhand-writers-politics-essays-and-criticisms","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}