Jacques Rancière is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Paris 8: Vincennes — Saint-Denis.

"This essay has more insights than many critical studies ten times as long: as a discussion of Chekhov's 'open endings' it sheds light, with original perceptions, not just on the major works, but shorter gems overlooked by other critics."Donald Rayfield, Queen Mary University of London"This is an exquisite instalment in Rancière' political aesthetics and poetics in which his own writing reverberates with the same plangent yearning that he finds in Chekhov's short fiction. A must for any student of Chekhov or political aesthetics."J.M. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

• The Tramp's DreamThe Whirring of ServitudeThe Song of the TelegraphA New Dawn?The Power of the MomentThe Music of the NarrativeFrom the Song of the Steppe to the Song of the BitternThe Soldier's EyesWithout Beginning or End

Jacques Rancière is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Paris 8: Vincennes — Saint-Denis.

"This essay has more insights than many critical studies ten times as long: as a discussion of Chekhov's 'open endings' it sheds light, with original perceptions, not just on the major works, but shorter gems overlooked by other critics."Donald Rayfield, Queen Mary University of London"This is an exquisite instalment in Rancière' political aesthetics and poetics in which his own writing reverberates with the same plangent yearning that he finds in Chekhov's short fiction. A must for any student of Chekhov or political aesthetics."J.M. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

• The Tramp's DreamThe Whirring of ServitudeThe Song of the TelegraphA New Dawn?The Power of the MomentThe Music of the NarrativeFrom the Song of the Steppe to the Song of the BitternThe Soldier's EyesWithout Beginning or End