Maurice Blanchot on Poetry and Narrative: Ethics of the Image

Kevin Hart's study connects Blanchot's philosophical writings on narrative to three major poets, highlighting the importance of Jewish philosophy and political thought to his conception of literature. It discusses Blanchot's concept of "the Outside," which engages Franz Rosenzweig's work on Abrahamic faiths, and has implications for Jewish studies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 18 May 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Blanchot's writings on three significant poets, Mallarmé, Hölderlin, and Char, serve as a groundbreaking new starting point for English-language criticism of his philosophical writings on narrative in this study by renowned Blanchot scholar Kevin Hart. By linking his work to later prominent figures of 20th-century French philosophy, such as Emmanuel Levinas, Simone Weil, and Jacques Derrida, Hart emphasizes the significance of Jewish philosophy and political thought to his overall conception of literature. Chapters on community and negation reveal Blanchot's emphasis on the relationship between narrative and politics, surpassing the more commonly connected narrative and aesthetics. By fully discussing Blanchot's elusive concept of "the Outside" for the first time, this book advances scholarly understandings of his entire oeuvre further. This central concept engages Franz Rosenzweig's work on Abrahamic faiths, enabling a reckoning on the role of suffering and literature in the wake of the Shoah, with significant implications for Jewish studies more broadly.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350349056