R. D. Laing, Knots

Daniel Burston (Duquesne University); Gavin Miller (University of Glasgow)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1970

Places

Scotland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Knots was published in 1970. Unlike Laing's previous books, Knots is not written in a formal academic style, nor in the polemical tones of The Politics of Experience, but in a poetic, playful and occasionally quite schematic style. Writing this book was a gamble for Laing, because publishing companies in England and the USA did not know whether to classify it as poetry, philosophy, or psychology. When he started it in 1968, he felt that he had done more than enough research into schizophrenia and families, and that Knots would allow him room for more creative exploration.

In R.D. Laing: A Biography, Laing's son Adrian notes that his father spent more time on Knots than any o…

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813 words

Citation: Burston, Daniel, Gavin Miller. "Knots". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16848, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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