Discorsi di Oxford. Antistoricismo e "Difesa della poesia"

The essays gathered in this book, ‘Antistoricismo’ (Antihistoricism) and ‘Difesa della poesia’ (Defence of poetry) – i.e. talks given at two conferences held in Oxford – were published in the journal ‘La Critica’ in 1930 and 1934 respectively, and then in Croce’s Ultimi saggi (Last essays) in 1935. They had a truly remarkable impact due to the cultural and geographical setting in which they have their origin, due to the European moral and political context and, ultimately, due to how not only the ideas of philosophers, but also how philosophers themselves were perceived: Croce’s active role in English culture as a critic, as a theorist of aesthetics and historiography, and as an anti-fascist, liberal intellectual reached its peak in the 1930s. A large number of speeches, studies and discussions on major themes addressed by Croce, from Shakespeare to the relationship between art and history, took place between Oxford and London. The two lectures are followed by a documentary Appendix containing an excerpt from the third volume of the Taccuini di lavoro (Work journals) and a few pages of correspondence between Croce and Vossler, a prime example of the quality of Croce’s autobiographical writing. The importance of the texts in this book, edited by Emma Giammattei, is further enhanced by a long and detailed Note by Gennaro Sasso, president of the national edition of the works of Croce, who puts them in context and thoroughly analyses their origin and content.