Reinventing the Unconscious

People often ask what I read when I am not reading Lacan. It’s usually a combination of wild-eyed student essays, nosebleed scholarly manuscripts, and handwritten short stories by a certain nine year old. But also books about Lacanian psychoanalysis, of course! Which is what I’ve been up to the past couple of weeks — and with one book in particular repeatedly on my mind:

In anticipation of our new series on Seminar XIX, I decided to peek into this collection of papers by Colette Soler . . . and then I couldn’t put the volume down. Clear writing, summative thinking, brazenly argued throughout — what a between-series treat, especially this winter, as we find ourselves on the threshold of Lacan’s later thought.

Which is not to say that I share Soler’s commitment to “the real unconscious.” Not yet at least. But damn if this book isn’t studded with arresting insights! Like this one, which I couldn’t resist sharing with y’all, for reasons that will become increasingly clear in our upcoming series on Seminar XIX:

“An end of analysis is also the end of the joys of deciphering.”

And with that, it’s back to work for me! Time to crack open Seminar XIX, record some introductory lectures, and begin looking forward to our first online discussion. I have a feeling this is going to be a mind warpingly good time — from start to finish. Link below to learn more and join in the fun!