French Literature Reviews - 2026
W. Koestenbaum, Humiliation
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Humiliation
By Wayne Koestenbaum
Nathalie Ferron (Translator)
Published: March 14, 2012
Publisher: Climats
ISBN: 978-2-08-127076-3
EAN: 9782081270763
No. of pages: 227 pages
Publisher's price: €19.00
A social obsession staging the spectacle of shame, humiliation surges forth in waves, sweeping along its fair share of filth onto celebrities and anonymous individuals alike: from Michael Jackson to the prisoners of Abu Ghraib, from reality TV shows to online sex ads, nothing can resist its swell.
The famous information superhighways of the internet have turned into superhighways of humiliation. A manifestation of our bodily presence, humiliation functions as a secret crypt in which our personality is forged. As such, it acts as a driving force, a catalyst, a sublime threshold from which we can only rise. From trash to the sublime and back again: Oscar Wilde, Antonin Artaud, Jean Genet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and various other troublemakers have thus shown that humiliation is a furnace through which the human soul passes, emerging polished, glazed, and hardened.
Astonishingly funny, profoundly sad, and at times unsettling, this singular book sets out to describe the mysterious ritual that perhaps allows us to endure one another.
Contents:
FUGUE NO. 1 STRIP SEARCH
FUGUE NO. 2 THE JIM CROW GAZE
FUGUE NO. 3 LIVERWURST STENCH
FUGUE NO. 4 I WANT TO BE YOUR SLUT
FUGUE NO. 5 PHLEGMON
FUGUE NO. 6 FIVE O'CLOCK SHADOW
FUGUE NO. 7 CATHETER (THE QUEEN OF TROY IS NO MORE)
FUGUE NO. 8 ODIOUS CHARGES
FUGUE NO. 9 A FINE JEWISH SPIDERWEB
FUGUE NO. 10 ELECTROSHOCK AESTHETICS
The Author:
Wayne Koestenbaum, born in 1958, is a professor of literature at the City University of New York and teaches at the Yale School of Art.
Humiliation is the first of his books to be translated into French. Acclaimed by critics and peers alike, notably writer Susan Sontag and filmmaker John Waters, his work blends high and popular culture, autobiography and essay, prose and poetry.
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An article on this book can be read on the nonfiction.fr website:
Wayne Koestenbaum is a professor of literature at the City University of New York and teaches at the Yale School of Art, with work that blends high and popular culture, autobiography and essay, prose and poetry. Born in 1958, his writing often brings together diverse references. In this work, translated by Nathalie Ferron and published by Climats in 2012, the text touches on various cultural expressions and public spectacles. The discussion mentions figures such as Oscar Wilde, Antonin Artaud, Jean Genet, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The exploration of shame and public degradation relates to cultural critique and social observation regarding how society stages the spectacle of shame. By tracing these dynamics from contemporary media to historical examples, the book engages with themes of vulnerability and exposure. Readers interested in contemporary essays examining media culture, social rituals, and the psychological dimensions of public life may find it relevant.