Betrayed Will -- A Series of Works by Milan Kundera

Author: Milan Kundera
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: In my opinion, great works can only be born within the history of the art they belong to and actively participate in that history. Only within history can one grasp what is new, what is repetitive, what is invention, and what is imitation. In other words, only within history can a work exist as a value that people can discern and cherish. For art, I believe there is nothing more terrible than falling outside its history, for it would then be lost in a chaotic void where no aesthetic value can be discovered anymore.
For me, becoming a novelist is not merely practicing a certain "literary genre"; it is also an attitude, a wisdom, a stance—a stance that excludes any assimilation with any politics, religion, ideology, ethics, or collective position. It is a conscious, stubborn, and furious differentiation, not as escape or passivity, but as resistance, rebellion, and challenge.
In my opinion, great works can only be born within the history of the art they belong to and actively participate in that history. Only within history can one grasp what is new, what is repetitive, what is invention, and what is imitation. In other words, only within history can a work exist as a value that people can discern and cherish. For art, I believe there is nothing more terrible than falling outside its history, for it would then be lost in a chaotic void where no aesthetic value can be discovered anymore.
For me, becoming a novelist is not merely practicing a certain "literary genre"; it is also an attitude, a wisdom, a stance—a stance that excludes any assimilation with any politics, religion, ideology, ethics, or collective position. It is a conscious, stubborn, and furious differentiation, not as escape or passivity, but as resistance, rebellion, and challenge.