Description
Book SynopsisPresents a collection of ninety-two poems spanning several decades. This work contains poems that reflect interests in philosophy, the history of religions, and, in particular, the mystical dimensions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Trade Review"Wolfson is easily one of the most significant scholars working on comparative mystical literature today. This elegant book of his poetry and poetics adds yet another impressive dimension to his oeuvre." -- -Jeffrey J. Kripal Rice University "Accompanying thinking to the limits of the sayable, Wolfson traverses the regions of positing bequeathed by the great philosopher-poets, the stutterers and soothsayers. Accomplice to Holderlin and Paul Celan, he has stayed in this exemplary collection with the abyssal loneliness of the poetic word." CHECK IF CHANGING - ar3@nyu.edu. -- -Avital Ronell New York University "Established as master scholar of Kabbalah, and, more recently, emerging as postmodern philosopher, Elliot R. Wolfson also makes poems. These spare but unsparing verses must now be taken into account by anyone seeking to understand Wolfson's work as a unity. They provide precious new clues for approaching his complex thought as a whole." -- -Steven M. Wasserstrom Reed College "One must admire Wolfson's chutzpah for trying to find the words to express what perhaps cannot, or perhaps should not, be articulated." -Jewish Book World "In this elegant and forceful volume, Wolfson conflates the foot and the dream, the base and the crown. This collection of poems reads like an extended account of a mystical journey, one that spans multiple traditions and resonates in more ways than can be (un)said. Like expressive equivalents of his scholarly writings, Wolfson's poems evoke a sense of transmystical comparativism-of venturing beyond the boundaries of beyond. In so doing, the poems are like stars that have fallen to the ground, their lyrical sequences creating illuminated footpaths that invite readers to follow Wolfson's lead and walk with their feet in the sky." -- -Marcia Brennan Rice University "A poetry collection characterised by contradictions, unexpected combinations, and constant reminders of the cyclic nature of life and time." -M/C Reviews
