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: Hey All-- : Just wanted to say that I too love SW and would like to thank you for the suggestions on further reading. Joshua--you mentioned the Robert Coles book--it's called Simone Weil, A Modern Pilgrimmage, and it's fantastic. He does a great of synthesizing her thought with everyday life and he summarizes a lot of Simone Petrement's text too which is useful since it isn't readily available. Hope that helps! : ~~~Kari : : : Hi Jean and Joshua, : : I have also discovered Simone Weil recently. I have started reading the new book of her collected writings published by Gallimard. Quarto collection. It like the arrangement of her works in this edition, as it makes for easy reading, yet I am not sure it has been translated yet into English. Joshua, you should know. Has it? I would love to discuss the writings of Simone Weil with you guys, especificaly her socio-political thought. : : Araceli : : : Jean, : : : I've been a big "Simone Weil fan" for some time now-- here's some good : : : starting material: : : : (1) I would suggest first Simone Weil: An Anthology, ed. by Sian Miles. It : : : gives a good overview of her writings-- "Human Personality," the "Draft for : : : a Statement on Human Obligations," her essay on The Iliad, political essays, : : : excerpts from her notebooks. : : : (2) Simone Weil's posthumous Gravity & Grace is a must-- these are : : : selections from her notebooks. It is aphoristic in nature, and can be a : : : tough reading at first (and, like Nietzsche, SW is not a systematic : : : thinker). Gravity & Grace and the Sian Miles anthology are my own personal : : : favorites, containing the essentials of SW. : : : (3) Another "clic" is Waiting For God, which contains various essays by : : : SW. : : : (4) I don't know if you can find it, but there is a collection of essays by : : : SW called Intimations of Christianity Among the Greeks (which includes her : : : excellent essay on The Iliad). : : : (5) Another larger anthology is the Simone Weil Reader, ed. by George A. : : : Panichas (I recommend Sian Miles' anthology first though). : : : (6) Unfortunately, Simone Petrement's "definitive" biography, Simone Weil: A : : : Life, is currently out-of-print in English translation. If you happen to : : : find this book, read it-it's best to understand her often-complex writings : : : in the context of her life. There are other biographies, but none of them : : : are as good as Petrement's (who was also a friend of SW's). Unfortunately, : : : most academic books on SW tend to regard her as a neurotic or worse. I : : : think there is a book by Robert Coles on SW that is worth reading (I forget : : : the title). : : : (7) You might also be interested in Stephanie Strickland's book-length poem : : : on SW, The Red . It is a biography of sorts. : : : (9) In France, scholars have been slowly but surely publishing all of SW's : : : complete works, including the notebooks (I think it will finally add up to : : : about 15 volumes!). Unfortunately, the response and interest in SW is not : : : as great in the U.S. : : : (10)While my own website doesn't deal with SW directly, you may find it of : : : related interest. It is called "The Wanderer: A Resource for the Spiritual : : : Seeker" at http://pages.prodigy.net/ontology . At rivertext.com there is a : : : small SW website (it is on my "library" page). There is unfortunately not : : : any good websites on SW out there. : : : (11) If you wish to discuss anything on SW, I would certainly enjoy doing : : : so. There seem to be very few "Weil-o-philes" in the world. I like both : : : her spiritual as well as her political writings (which are actually closely : : : related to one another). My e-mail address is gilgamesh@prodigy.net . I : : : hope you continue to explore Simone Weil's life and thought. She was an : : : exceptional human being. : : : "The intelligence can only be led by desire." -Simone Weil

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