On the Anarchy of Poetry and Philosophy: A Guide for the Unruly (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy)

305 Pages·2007·2.13 MB·English

by  Gerald Bruns

On the Anarchy of Poetry and Philosophy
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SeriesBoard
JamesBernauer
DrucillaCornell
ThomasR.Flynn
Kevin Hart
Jean-LucMarion
AdriaanPeperzak
RichardKearney
ThomasSheehan
HentdeVries
MeroldWestphal
Edith Wyschogrod
MichaelZimmerman
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John D. Caputo, series editor
PERSPECTIVESIN
CONTINENTAL
PHILOSOPHY
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GERALD L. BRUNS
On the Anarchy of Poetry and
Philosophy
A Guide for the Unruly
FORDHAMUNIVERSITYPRESS
NewYork 2006
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Copyright(cid:2)2006FordhamUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans—electronic,
mechanical,photocopy,recording,oranyother—exceptforbriefquotationsin
printedreviews,withoutthepriorpermissionofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Bruns,GeraldL.
Ontheanarchyofpoetryandphilosophy:aguidefortheunruly/
GeraldL.Bruns.
p. cm.—(Perspectivesincontinentalphilosophy)
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN-13:978-0-8232-2632-0(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-8232-2632-8(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN-13:978-0-8232-2633-7(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-8232-2633-6(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Aesthetics. 2.Art—Philosophy. 3.Poetry. 4.Poetry—Historyand
criticism. I.Title.
BH39.B795 2006
111(cid:2).85—dc22 2006035284
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1
Firstedition
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For Marjorie and Joe Perloff
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Human life, distinct from juridical existence, existing as it does on a
globeisolatedincelestialspace,fromnighttodayandfromonecoun-
trytoanother—humanlifecannotinanywaybelimitedtotheclosed
systemsassignedtoitbyreasonableconceptions.Theimmensetravail
ofrecklessness,discharge,andupheavalthatconstituteslifecouldbe
expressed by stating that life starts with the deficit of these systems;
at least what it allows in the way of order and reserve has meaning
onlyfromthemomentwhentheorderedandreservedforcesliberate
andlosethemselvesforendsthatcannotbesubordinatedtoanything
one can account for. It is only by such insubordination—even if it is
impoverished—thatthehumanraceceasestobeisolatedintheuncon-
ditionalsplendorofmaterialthings.
—GeorgesBataille,‘‘TheNotionofDe´pense’’
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
AbbreviationsforFrequentlyCitedTexts xiii
Preface xxiii
PART ONE: THE MODERNIST SUBLIME
1 Modernisms—LiteraryandOtherwise:AnIntroduction 3
2 AncientsandModerns:Gadamer’sAestheticTheoryand
thePoetryofPaulCelan 33
PART TWO: FORMS OF PAGANISM
3 Foucault’sModernism:Language,Poetry,andthe
ExperienceofFreedom 57
4 PoeticCommunities 79
5 FrancisPongeontheRuedelaChausse´ed’Antin 106
6 TheSensesofAugustine:OnSomeofLyotard’sRemains 133
PART THREE: ANARCHIST POETICS
7 AnarchicTemporality:Writing,Friendship,andthe
OntologyoftheWorkofArtinMauriceBlanchot’s
Poetics 155
ix
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