Psychogeography

Description

Psychogeography. In recent years this term has been used to illustrate a bewildering array of ideas from ley lines and the occult, to urban walking and political radicalism. But where does it come from and what exactly does it mean? This book examines the origins of psychogeography in the Paris of the 1950s, exploring the theoretical background and its political application in the work of Guy Debord and the Situationists. Psychogeography continues to find retrospective validation in much earlier traditions, from the visionary writing of William Blake and Thomas De Quincey to the rise of the flaneur and the avant-garde experimentatin of the Surrealists. These precursors to psychogeography are discussed here alongside their modern counterparts, for today these ideas hold greater currency than ever through the popularity of writers and filmmakers such as Iain Sinclair, Will Self and Patrick Keiller. From the urban wanderer to the armchair traveller, psychogeography provides us with new ways of experiencing our environment, transforming the familiar streets of our everyday experience into something new and unexpected. Merlin Coverley conducts the reader through this process, providing an explanation of the terms involved and an analysis of the key figures and their works.

Merlin Coverley is the author of seven books: London Writing, Psychogeography, Occult London, Utopia, The Art of Wandering, South and Hauntology. He lives in London.

A short book that offers an explanation and definition of this widely used term, and an analysis of the key figures and their work -- Shaun Morris It's certainly a help with the inevitable question I face after giving a talk about anything: "what is psychogeography?" Now I can refer people to Merlin's book -- Iain Sinclair Psychogeography, qu'est-ce que c'est? It's probably too late to be pondering this question now, as Merlin Coverley suggests in a new edition of his book of that title -- A.T. * Times Literary Supplement * An excellent overview of a tradition that can be tricky to pin down and a great portal for loads of further reading -- Hugh Marwood Although only 150-odd pages long, this is a complex book -- John Rimmer * Magonia Review of Books *