Sign-In
Cart
Within the Inscribed: selected prose and conversations
Paperback
Letters & EssaysGeneral Poetry
ISBN13: 9781848617513
Publisher: Shearsman Books
Published: May 31 2021
Pages: 218
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.50 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The title, and to some extent, the thematics of this book, is based on the volume's epigraph, a sentence of Geoffrey Hartman's: The sacred has so inscribed itself in language that while it must be interpreted, it cannot be removed. I explore this sense of inscription and trace as it relates to poetry, especially with respect to aspects of Judaic thought and Buddhist influences, the poetics of Walter Benjamin and Heidegger, in relation to a number of the Objectivist poets (Oppen, Reznikoff and Rakosi), the Israeli poet, Hyam Bialik, Wallace Stevens, H.D., Robert Duncan and Allen Grossman.
The writings constitute a continuation of the interests and themes developed in my poetry and in my three previous essay collections, mainly reflections that focus primarily on poetic language among the poets whom I have referenced and thinkers who throughout their work have been concerned with the relationship of language to religious and spiritual traditions and to the questions of uncertainty and poetic truth value that surround those traditions
In a sense, the work investigates the poetics of what Gershom Scholem was indicating when he referred to Whitman's poetry as secular holiness, a provocative yet fruitful juxtaposition of terms that suggests possibilities for new meanings, shadings and textures in the works and poets examined. This collection while not precisely a monograph has monograph-like qualities. Its implicit unity derives from the resonances among its themes and repeated reference to individual figures and works (threaded through its contents, for example, are over 300 mentions of Benjamin, 250 of Oppen, 100 of Scholem, and 90 of Heidegger). There are numerous references to Bialik, Duncan, Stevens and H.D. Among other writers woven into the texts are Celan, Merleau-Ponty, Stanley Cavell, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Herbert V. Guenther.
The writings are organized into three related sections. The first comprises essays, presentations and conversations that range over topics such as the sacred dimension in poetry, Walter Benjamin's now-time poetics, the relation of Diasporic Judaism to poetics, Buddhist practice and poetry and the sacred as inscribed in language.
The second section contains essays and reviews on specific poets, the themes and questions their work provokes. The poets discussed include Oppen, Reznikoff and Rakosi, H.D., Robert Duncan and Allen Grossman, poets whose handling of language, history and questions of culture and myth are related to themes addressed in the first section.
The third section, or 'Coda, ' while maintaining thematic links with the preceding sections, is something of a departure, shifting the focus to very present matters. It consists of three works: 'Letter from the Mourning Field', a personal memoir about events surrounding the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11, a short essay/response entitled In What Sense... which takes up the question of poetry's efficacy with respect to our current cultural and political situation and last, a recent wide-ranging interview that covers many phases of my writing and thinking about poetry.
Also in
Letters & Essays
Essays V2: Moral And Entertaining On The Various Faculties And Passions Of The Human Mind (1815)
Clarendon, Edward Hyde Earl of
Paperback
Sez I to Myself: The Collected Essays of Frank and Malachy McCourt
McCourt, Frank
McCourt, Malachy
Hardcover
But Have You Read the Book? Romance Edition: 40 Love Stories That Inspired Our Favorite Films
Lopez, Kristen
Hardcover
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Paperback
Little Apocalypses: Essays on Motherhood, Climate Change, and Hope at the End of the World
Teer, Kaitlyn
Paperback
Corazón Migrante. Ensayos Sobre Lo Que No Puedo Olvidar / Migrant Heart: Essays on What I Cannot Forget
Grande, Reyna
Paperback
Glimmerings: Letters on Faith Between a Poet and a Theologian
Wiman, Christian
Volf, Miroslav
Hardcover
Wonder Is a Lovely Place to Be: 365 Days of Wit, Wisdom, and Irrepressible Imagination
Doyle, Brian
Hardcover
Love in the Afternoon, and Evening: Essays and Conversations on Soap Operas
Sen, Mayukh
Druckman, Charlotte
Paperback
异乡故人（壹嘉-人文）
刘宗坤
Paperback
Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
VanderMeer, Jeff
Paperback
Mon Cher Amour: The Love Letters of Albert Camus and Maria Casares, 1944-1959
Camus, Albert
Hardcover