The Renaissance was the Ruin-naissance, the birth of the ruin as a distinct category of cultural discourse, one that inspired voluminous poetic production. For

We have become used to looking at art from a stance of detachment. In order to be objective, we create a “mental space” between ourselves and the objects of

"In 'The Ruins Lesson,' the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning poet-critic Susan Stewart explores the West's fascination with ruins in literature, visua

"An illuminating reassessment of the architect whose innovative drawings of ruins shaped the enduring image of ancient Rome"--

This book focuses on literal and metaphorical ruins, as they are appropriated and imagined in different forms of writing. Examining British and American literat