Print this page 'The Radiance of Existence' - What We Can Learn from Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir in her memoirs and novel The Mandarins crafts and sculpts some compelling passages that are her attempts to put into words – the sheer radiance of existence. In this 2-session workshop we will appraise some examples of her sublime writing on existence, and daily living with awareness, as well her art of the dialectic. We will keep busy with short exercises – discussion – readings, and fun. Please ensure you bring notebooks and pens for some writing exercises.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter (1959); The Prime of Life (1962); Force of Circumstance (1965); All Said and Done (1974)
• The Mandarins, Simone de Beauvoir (1954)

COURSE OUTLINE

• Compelling passages about daily life and existence from de Beauvoir’s massive memoirs – exploring why are they so compelling?
• Features she uses to portray ‘radiance’ - (poetic beauty, lyrical use of words, structure and control) – and more?
• Work out distinguishing between ‘mere reportage’ – chronicling – compelling portrayal of daily existence,
• Interactive writing practice exercises – discussion – readings of classwork.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Discuss and practise with other writers the tradecraft of developing compelling descriptions of everyday life echoing the skill of de Beauvoir.
2. Assess for themselves Simone's views on what makes a writer.