Poetics of Departure (Jakob Helmut Deibl)

This volume examines the question of naming the divine in poetry by drawing on selected poems by Hölderlin and a number of examples from the history of the poet's reception. To this end, the author begins by interpreting two poems dedicated to Hölderlin: one by Hesse ("Ode an Hölderlin") and one by Rilke ("An Hölderlin"). These prefigure a line of interpretation which, together with Hölderlin, poses the question of whether the present age can still address God, and the consequences associated with this question. Then the work moves on to interpret Hölderlin's poems "Da ich ein Knabe war ...", "Der Abschied", "Heimkunft" and "Ermunterung" as well as their respective revisions. The focus lies on how the question of naming God emerges in the poems. The volume seeks to demonstrate that this theme is not only central to Hölderlin's poems but also leads to questions which - although rarely posed - are an essential part of modernity.

Jakob Helmut Deibl is Associate Professor of Religion and Aesthetics in the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Vienna and Scientific Manager of the Research Centre "Religion and Transformation". He is also Editor-in-Chief of the open-access ""Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation" (JRAT).

Buch (Hardcover), Englisch, 150 Seiten