groovegrove presents
René Daumal’s RASA or Knowledge of Self
Book Party May 21st, 2 – 5 pm
Join us in celebrating the publication of third edition of
René Daumal’s RASA or knowledge of the self
Essays on Indian Aesthetics and Selected Sanskrit Studies
(Cool Grove Press)
at
TORN PAGE, 435 West 22nd Street, Chelsea
May 21st Sunday 2-5pm
Please RSVP (free) at the link below.
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‘Rasa’ (Sanskrit) translates approximately as ‘Savor’ or ‘Essence’ or simply ‘Juice’, slang for the experience in any language. In his own words, René Daumal, the author of the enigmatic Mount Analogue discovers, in his study of Sanskrit texts on aesthetics (at least 2000 years old), that:
“Savor is not the base emotion, related to personal life; it is a “supernatural” (lokottara) representation, a moment of consciousness provoked by the mediums of art and colored with a particular pathos. Dare I say: an objective emotion?”
There is much more to savor in this book, including the mind bending process of ‘translation.’ Originally written in French by René Daumal, the first edition was translated from the French by Louise Landes Levi and released in 1982 by New Directions. Rescued by Shivastan for a period it was out of print for too long but is now available in a new third edition from Cool Grove Press, Brooklyn.
Rasa will be presented by
translator Louise Landes Levi and Tej Hazarika, publisher of coolgrove.
Actor Tony Torn will read from the stanzas of the Natya Shastra, one of the antique texts in the book, with special guest Kelvin Daly. inquiries: info@coolgrove.com
Please RSVP (free) at the link below.