Poet. Memoirist.
Literary Critic.
Madelon Sprengnether is a poet, memoirist, literary critic, and Regents Professor Emerita of the University of Minnesota. Her recent publications include Great River Road: Memoir and Memory (New Rivers Press, 2015), Near Solstice: Prose Poems (Holy Cow! Press, 2015), and Mourning Freud (Bloomsbury 2018).
New
Release
Mourning Freud analyzes Freud’s experiences and theories of mourning as the basis for exploring changes in psychoanalytic theories and practices over the course of the 20th century.
Praise for Mourning Freud
“Mourning Freud is an important intervention in discussions of psychoanalysis, literature and feminism. The product of a quarter-century of careful and deep thought by a prominent literary and academic figure, it delivers a set of beautifully written analyses of the relationship between psychoanalysis and social issues, mediated through the motif of mourning. In this book, Madelon Sprengnether offers a delicate and immersive experience of rethinking Freudian and post-Freudian theories of intimacy and loss.”
– Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
Praise for Mourning Freud
“Mourning Freud is a beautifully written book in which Sprengnether respectfully, intelligently develops penetrating critiques of Freud's work-particularly in the areas of pre-Oedipal development, mourning, and female psychology-not for the purpose of dismissing Freud, but for the purpose of revising and extending some of his most pivotal ideas. This is a book that leaves the reader feeling that he or she has not simply listened to a writer in the act of thinking; instead, the reader feels that he or she has had the privilege of taking part in a remarkable conversation.”
– Thomas Ogden, psychoanalyst and author of Reclaiming Unlived Life: Experiences in Psychoanalysis (2016)
Praise for Mourning Freud
“An odyssey of scholarship, Mourning Freud is a beautifully written book. Sprengnether is clear-eyed and compelling.”
– Anthony Elliott, Dean of External Engagement, University of South Australia
Praise for The Spectral Mother and Mourning Freud
“Madelon Sprengnether's The Spectral Mother was one of the essential texts to grow out of the fruitful intersection of feminism, literary theory and psychoanalysis. In this collection of essays, Mourning Freud, she has made another important contribution to the psychoanalytic theory of culture. Sprengnether is to be congratulated for deploying her mastery of the pre-Oedipal turn in psychoanalysis, trauma theory, Freud studies, and neuropsychology to properly mourn Freud-to transform him from 'a ghost into an ancestor.' In so doing, she has not only advanced psychoanalytic discourse beyond the infantile polemics of the Freud Wars, but also helped us to form a more mature picture of the first psychoanalyst as well as of ourselves.”
– Joel Whitebook, Faculty, Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, Columbia University, USA, and author of Freud: An Intellectual Biography
More by Madelon
Great River Road: Memoir and Memory
“Great River Road is a candid, personal story and a far larger one: an inspiring take on the challenge of revisiting our lives, taking pleasure in old joys and overcoming our natural resistance to the painful parts. Madelon Sprengnether’s conclusion that memory is a ‘process rather than a product, a verb rather than a noun’ seems to me a perfect way to open tight-shut doors to the forgiveness of others and of the self.”
– Rosellen Brown
Crying at the Movies: A Film Memoir
“In these insightful essays, even the writing itself is cinematic, as Sprengnether’s memories and quick film summaries meld into one another, making it seem as if the author hasn’t just seen many movies, but has actually lived one.”
– Publishers Weekly
Near Solstice: Prose Poems
“Madelon Sprengnether’s short prose poems surprise us with their quick turns and telegraphic insights, their physical bearing―what she calls “bodyworlds”―and spiritual poise. Near Solstice is a book of urgencies.”
– Edward Hirsch
