One of the more ambitious attempts to reconnect literary theory with social theory, Alan Swingewood's Sociological Poetics and Aesthetic Theory argues against the false choice between formalism and sociology. 

Drawing on Marx, Bakhtin, Lukács, Goldmann, Jauss, Gadamer, Weber and Simmel, the book moves across Russian Formalism, hermeneutics, reception theory, Marxist aesthetics and the sociology of art. Its central concern is how can criticism account for both the internal structures of a work and the historical forces that shape it? Swingewood's answer is a "sociological poetics" attentive to language without losing sight of class, institutions, history and ideology.

Published in the mid-1980s, the book captures a moment when literary studies was rethinking the relationship between text and world. While many of its interlocutors remain central to contemporary theory, the work itself has become surprisingly difficult to find, making it a rewarding volume for readers interested in literary criticism, Marxist aesthetics, cultural sociology or the intellectual history of theory.

First edition, 1986. Macmillan Press Ltd. Paperback. An exceptionally clean copy with only the lightest shelf wear. Binding is firm, spine remains uncreased, and the pages are bright and unmarked throughout. Near fine condition.