This book explores the much debated relation of language and bodily experience (i.e. the 'flesh'), considering in particular how poetry functions as revelatory discourse and thus relates to the formal horizon of theological inquiry. The central thematic focus is around a 'phenomenology of the flesh' as that which connects us with the world, being the site of perception and feeling, joy and suffering, and of life itself in all its vulnerability. The voices represented in this collection reflect interdisciplinary methods of interpretation and broadly ecumenical sensibilities, focusing attention on such matters as the revelatory nature of language in general and poetic language in particular, the function of poetry in society, the question of Incarnation and its relation to language and the poetic arts, the kenosis of the Word, and human embodiment in relation to the word 'enfleshed' in poetry.

About the Author

Mark S. Burrows is Professor of Religion and Literature at the University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany. Recent publications include two volumes of German poetry in translation: Rainer Maria Rilke's Prayers of a Young Poet (2013) and the German-Iranian poet SAID's 99 Psalms (2013); a forthcoming volume of his recent poems, The Chance of Home, will be published in 2016.

Jean Ward is Professor of English Literature at the Institute of English and American Studies, Gdansk University, Poland. Her publications include Christian Poetry in the Post-Christian Day: Geoffrey Hill, R. S. Thomas, Elizabeth Jennings (2009) and a translation of Tadeusz Slawek's monograph, Henry David Thoreau - Grasping the Community of the World (2014).

Malgorzata Grzegorzewska is Professor of English Literature at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland. Her most recent book is entitled George Herbert and Post-Phenomenology: A Gift for Our Times (2016).

Reviews

'This is one of those rare collections that becomes a true symposium, a dialectic, with voices rooted in thought, scholarship, and the imagination employed at a high level. The intersection of flesh and word has long been at the core of theological and poetic discourse. But here - in fifteen deeply considered essays by some of our best critics and religious thinkers - we get a profoundly nuanced, inspiring sequence of interlocking pieces. Taken as a whole, Poetic Revelations delivers what it promises, taking us into what T.S. Eliot once called 'the heart of light'. That light burns here, and readers will delight in the illuminations.' - Jay Parini, author of Why Poetry Matters as well as six collections of poetry, including most recently New and Collected Poems, 1975-2015.

'Many poets and religious persons have held that there is another world that can be glimpsed by paying close attention to this one, and this belief is vividly explored by the contributors to this exciting volume. Here we hear of words "ripening in the silence," and see major philosophers such as Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion led into conversation about sacred poetry. George Herbert, R. M. Rilke, T. S. Eliot, David Jones, R. S. Thomas. . . all are illuminated by readers who take time to listen well to their words.' - Kevin Hart, Professor of Christian Studies at the University of Virginia and author, most recently, of Clandestine Encounters: Philosophy in the Narratives of Maurice Blanchot and Counter-Experiences: Reading Jean-Luc Marion.

'... I know of no other book that combines a sensitive balance between theology, poetry, and literature with such consistently creative and critical writing as Poetic Revelations ... This is an outstanding book and we can only look forward to more volumes from the Power of the Word conferences.' - David Jasper in Christianity & Literature

Book Information
ISBN 9780367362706
Author Mark S. Burrows
Format Paperback
Page Count 262
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 403g