Capital: New York, Capital of the 20th Century

Author:   Kenneth Goldsmith
Publisher:   Verso Books
ISBN:  

9781784781590


Pages:   928
Publication Date:   31 May 2016
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Our Price $39.99 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Capital: New York, Capital of the 20th Century


Add your own review!

Overview

Here is a kaleidoscopic assemblage and poetic history of New York: an unparalleled and original homage to the city, composed entirely of quotations. Drawn from a huge array of sources-histories, memoirs, newspaper articles, novels, government documents, emails-and organized into interpretive categories that reveal the philosophical architecture of the city, Capital is the ne plus ultra of books on the ultimate megalopolis. It is also a book of experimental literature that transposes Walter Benjamin's unfinished magnum opus of literary montage on the modern city, The Arcades Project, from 19th-century Paris to 20th-century New York, bringing the streets to life in categories such as ""Sex,"" ""Commodity,"" ""Downtown,"" ""Subway,"" and ""Mapplethorpe."" Capital is a book designed to fascinate and to fail-for can a megalopolis truly be written? Can a history, no matter how extensive, ever be comprehensive? Each reading of this book, and of New York, is a unique and impossible passage.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kenneth Goldsmith
Publisher:   Verso Books
Imprint:   Verso Books
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 5.10cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   1.555kg
ISBN:  

9781784781590


ISBN 10:   1784781592
Pages:   928
Publication Date:   31 May 2016
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Capital scintillates...Goldsmith has produced a book that reminds us how close we can still get, via the labour of sound and thought and syntax, to the rhythms of a real city. - Brian Dillon, Guardian Goldsmith's material, unmistakably real, refuses to remain in a literary frame. - Booklet [Goldsmith] gives you the feel of what it is like to be living in New York now. - Marjorie Perloff, New Yorker A skyscraper of words-literary, journalistic, poetic, and prosaic-to celebrate and chronicle teeming Gotham. The title alludes to Walter Benjamin, and the conceit is one to do him proud ... there is an embarrassment of riches here. - Kirkus Reviews Reading Capital feels like walking the city, through time and space, jumping neighborhoods, going in and out of buildings, slipping through wormholes. It's a kind of exuberant eavesdropping on the muttering, shouting narrative of the twentieth-century city. - Jeremiah Moss, Vanishing New York The book is an ever-rising crescendo of voices talking over and past one another inside a very confined space, and together that energy becomes the heat and light that made New York City the 20th century's most necessary city. Capital is as enriching as it is unwieldy, and a must-read for anyone who has even a little skin in this game. Ultimately, with both New York City and Goldsmith's book, all you have to do is say yes ; to begin. Then, suddenly, everything comes at you all at once. - Scott Heins, Gothamist Capital is ...meant to be dipped into, to surprise, like a chance encounter on the street. The infinite richness of the city is an apt form for [Goldsmith's] ambition. Capital is a book to get lost in for hours, like some obscure corner of the Lower East Side; it helps us see the universe in a chunk of asphalt. - Lauren Elkin, Financial Times The spirit of a city constantly wrestled with and romanticized all out of proportion suffuses Capital. - Andy Battaglia, Wall Street Journal Capital could be seen as Goldsmith scaling up, a skewed take on the Great American Novel. - Guardian [Capital] is an extravagantly complex construction, opening with a cinematic sweep of the city as a dream-like impossibility, then diving down from sky to earth, languishing in the street before digging underground and emerging to the sky, the weather, the atmosphere and, finally, the apocalypse...[Be] astounded by this epic, ten-year effort to shape an impossible portrait of a miraculous city which-as EB White puts it-should never have existed. - Gilda Williams, Art Monthly As massive, intimidating and fascinating as its subject...The book is much like the city it describes: once you start exploring, you won't want to stop. - Spectrum Culture


The book is an ever-rising crescendo of voices talking over and past one another inside a very confined space, and together that energy becomes the heat and light that made New York City the 20th century s most necessary city. Capital is as enriching as it is unwieldy, and a must-read for anyone who has even a little skin in this game. Ultimately, with both New York City and Goldsmith s book, all you have to do is say yes to begin. Then, suddenly, everything comes at you all at once. Scott Heins, Gothamist Reading Capital feels like walking the city, through time and space, jumping neighborhoods, going in and out of buildings, slipping through wormholes. It s a kind of exuberant eavesdropping on the muttering, shouting narrative of the twentieth-century city. Jeremiah Moss, Vanishing New York Capital is meant to be dipped into, to surprise, like a chance encounter on the street. The infinite richness of the city is an apt form for [Goldsmith s] ambition. Capital is a book to get lost in for hours, like some obscure corner of the Lower East Side; it helps us see the universe in a chunk of asphalt. Lauren Elkin, Financial Times The spirit of a city constantly wrestled with and romanticized all out of proportion suffuses Capital. Andy Battaglia, Wall Street Journal [Goldsmith] gives you the feel of what it is like to be living in New York now. Marjorie Perloff, New Yorker Capital could be seen as Goldsmith scaling up, a skewed take on the Great American Novel. Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian [ Capital ] is an extravagantly complex construction, opening with a cinematic sweep of the city as a dream-like impossibility, then diving down from sky to earth, languishing in the street before digging underground and emerging to the sky, the weather, the atmosphere and, finally, the apocalypse [Be] astounded by this epic, ten-year effort to shape an impossible portrait of a miraculous city which as EB White puts it should never have existed. Gilda Williams, Art Monthly A skyscraper of words literary, journalistic, poetic, and prosaic to celebrate and chronicle teeming Gotham. The title alludes to Walter Benjamin, and the conceit is one to do him proud there is an embarrassment of riches here. Kirkus Reviews Goldsmith s material, unmistakably real, refuses to remain in a literary frame. Bookslut Capital scintillates Goldsmith has produced a book that reminds us how close we can still get, via the labour of sound and thought and syntax, to the rhythms of a real city. Brian Dillon, Guardian From the Hardcover edition.


Capital scintillates . Goldsmith has produced a book that reminds us how close we can still get, via the labour of sound and thought and syntax, to the rhythms of a real city. -- Brian Dillon * Guardian * Goldsmith's material, unmistakably real, refuses to remain in a literary frame. * Bookslut * [Goldsmith] gives you the feel of what it is like to be living in New York now. -- Marjorie Perloff * New Yorker * A skyscraper of words-literary, journalistic, poetic, and prosaic-to celebrate and chronicle teeming Gotham. The title alludes to Walter Benjamin, and the conceit is one to do him proud . there is an embarrassment of riches here. * Kirkus Reviews * Reading Capital feels like walking the city, through time and space, jumping neighborhoods, going in and out of buildings, slipping through wormholes. It's a kind of exuberant eavesdropping on the muttering, shouting narrative of the twentieth-century city. -- Jeremiah Moss * Vanishing New York * Capital is . meant to be dipped into, to surprise, like a chance encounter on the street. The infinite richness of the city is an apt form for [Goldsmith's] ambition. Capital is a book to get lost in for hours, like some obscure corner of the Lower East Side; it helps us see the universe in a chunk of asphalt. -- Lauren Elkin * Financial Times * The spirit of a city constantly wrestled with and romanticized all out of proportion suffuses Capital. -- Andy Battaglia * Wall Street Journal * Capital could be seen as Goldsmith scaling up, a skewed take on the Great American Novel. -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian * [Capital] is an extravagantly complex construction, opening with a cinematic sweep of the city as a dream-like impossibility, then diving down from sky to earth, languishing in the street before digging underground and emerging to the sky, the weather, the atmosphere and, finally, the apocalypse . [Be] astounded by this epic, ten-year effort to shape an impossible portrait of a miraculous city which-as EB White puts it-should never have existed. -- Gilda Williams * Art Monthly * As massive, intimidating and fascinating as its subject . The book is much like the city it describes: once you start exploring, you won't want to stop. -- Pat Padua * Spectrum Culture * A fascinating work. Kenneth Goldsmith has set before us a Petronian feast in which every page offers up a toothsome morsel to anyone with an interest in New York and its pre-eminent place in the cultural life of the twentieth century. * Times Literary Supplement *


The book is an ever-rising crescendo of voices talking over and past one another inside a very confined space, and together that energy becomes the heat and light that made New York City the 20th century s most necessary city. Capital is as enriching as it is unwieldy, and a must-read for anyone who has even a little skin in this game. Ultimately, with both New York City and Goldsmith s book, all you have to do is say yes to begin. Then, suddenly, everything comes at you all at once. Scott Heins, Gothamist Reading Capital feels like walking the city, through time and space, jumping neighborhoods, going in and out of buildings, slipping through wormholes. It s a kind of exuberant eavesdropping on the muttering, shouting narrative of the twentieth-century city. Jeremiah Moss, Vanishing New York Capital is meant to be dipped into, to surprise, like a chance encounter on the street. The infinite richness of the city is an apt form for [Goldsmith s] ambition. Capital is a book to get lost in for hours, like some obscure corner of the Lower East Side; it helps us see the universe in a chunk of asphalt. Lauren Elkin, Financial Times The spirit of a city constantly wrestled with and romanticized all out of proportion suffuses Capital. Andy Battaglia, Wall Street Journal [Goldsmith] gives you the feel of what it is like to be living in New York now. Marjorie Perloff, New Yorker Capital could be seen as Goldsmith scaling up, a skewed take on the Great American Novel. Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian [ Capital ] is an extravagantly complex construction, opening with a cinematic sweep of the city as a dream-like impossibility, then diving down from sky to earth, languishing in the street before digging underground and emerging to the sky, the weather, the atmosphere and, finally, the apocalypse [Be] astounded by this epic, ten-year effort to shape an impossible portrait of a miraculous city which as EB White puts it should never have existed. Gilda Williams, Art Monthly A skyscraper of words literary, journalistic, poetic, and prosaic to celebrate and chronicle teeming Gotham. The title alludes to Walter Benjamin, and the conceit is one to do him proud there is an embarrassment of riches here. Kirkus Reviews Goldsmith s material, unmistakably real, refuses to remain in a literary frame. Bookslut Capital scintillates Goldsmith has produced a book that reminds us how close we can still get, via the labour of sound and thought and syntax, to the rhythms of a real city. Brian Dillon, Guardian From the Hardcover edition.


Author Information

Kenneth Goldsmith is the founding editor of UbuWeb, teaches Poetics and Poetic Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and is Senior Editor of PennSound. He was an artist and sculptor for many years before taking up conceptual poetry. He has since published ten books of poetry and is the author of a book of essays, Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in a Digital Age. He was the first Poet Laureate of the Museum of Modern Art. He resides in New York City with his wife, artist Cheryl Donegan and his two sons.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

MRG2025CC

 

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List