On the Anarchy of Poetry and Philosophy .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:54 PS PAGEi SeriesBoard JamesBernauer DrucillaCornell ThomasR.Flynn KevinHart Jean-LucMarion AdriaanPeperzak RichardKearney ThomasSheehan HentdeVries MeroldWestphal EdithWyschogrod MichaelZimmerman .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:54 PS PAGEii John D. Caputo, series editor PERSPECTIVESIN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:55 PS PAGEiii .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:55 PS PAGEiv GERALD L. BRUNS On the Anarchy of Poetry and Philosophy A Guide for the Unruly FORDHAMUNIVERSITYPRESS NewYork 2006 .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:55 PS PAGEv Copyright(cid:2)2006FordhamUniversityPress Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans—electronic, mechanical,photocopy,recording,oranyother—exceptforbriefquotationsin printedreviews,withoutthepriorpermissionofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Bruns,GeraldL. Ontheanarchyofpoetryandphilosophy:aguidefortheunruly/ GeraldL.Bruns. p. cm.—(Perspectivesincontinentalphilosophy) Includesbibliographicalreferences. ISBN-13:978-0-8232-2632-0(cloth:alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-8232-2632-8(cloth:alk.paper) ISBN-13:978-0-8232-2633-7(pbk.:alk.paper) ISBN-10:0-8232-2633-6(pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Aesthetics. 2.Art—Philosophy. 3.Poetry. 4.Poetry—Historyand criticism. I.Title. BH39.B795 2006 111(cid:2).85—dc22 2006035284 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1 Firstedition .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:55 PS PAGEvi For Marjorie and Joe Perloff .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:55 PS PAGEvii Human life, distinct from juridical existence, existing as it does on a globeisolatedincelestialspace,fromnighttodayandfromonecoun- trytoanother—humanlifecannotinanywaybelimitedtotheclosed systemsassignedtoitbyreasonableconceptions.Theimmensetravail ofrecklessness,discharge,andupheavalthatconstituteslifecouldbe expressed by stating that life starts with the deficit of these systems; at least what it allows in the way of order and reserve has meaning onlyfromthemomentwhentheorderedandreservedforcesliberate andlosethemselvesforendsthatcannotbesubordinatedtoanything one can account for. It is only by such insubordination—even if it is impoverished—thatthehumanraceceasestobeisolatedintheuncon- ditionalsplendorofmaterialthings. —GeorgesBataille,‘‘TheNotionofDe´pense’’ .................16257$ $$FM 11-13-0614:28:56 PS PAGEviii 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 .................16257$ CNTS 11-13-0614:28:57 PS PAGEix