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A lad insane / Aladdin Sane. David Bowie’s poetry in the context of American buddhism

https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-5-129-137

Abstract

Features of Buddhist philosophy as interpreted by the counter-cultural writer J. Kerouac play an important role in the artistic self-determination of the British poet and musician D. Bowie and the formation of his creative personality. The article suggests that Kerouac’s motif of the road has Buddhist philosophical overtones, which Bowie adopts to create the poetic “persona” of Aladdin Sane, functioning in a unique way in the album cycle of the same name. Aladdin’s “persona” is presented as schizophrenic, but at the same time embodying the concepts of “transience” and “absence of self”, close to Buddhist philosophy in Kerouac’s interpretation.

About the Author

D. A. Tyulin
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation

Dmitry A. Tyulin, postgraduate student

bld. 6, Miusskaya Square, Moscow, 125047



References

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Review

For citations:


Tyulin D.A. A lad insane / Aladdin Sane. David Bowie’s poetry in the context of American buddhism. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2023;(5):129-137. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2023-5-129-137

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ISSN 2073-6355 (Print)