Words Fail Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation [Hardcover]

There has been much philosophical speculation on the potential failure of language as well as the search for a presentation of the thing itself beyond representation. Words Fail pursues the writings of a trio of philosophersJacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Giorgio Agambenas prime examples of how modern poetry presents us with a profitable vantage point from which to survey the ongoing struggle of living in a highly fragmented world.

Alongside these thinkers, this book looks specifically at the form of spirituality that is given shape by this intersection of poetics and theological-philosophical reflectionall of which offer rich suggestions about our spiritual nature.

This book investigates the form of spirituality given shape in the intersection of poetics and theological-philosophical reflection, concerned especially with matters of representation and failure.Colby Dickinson provides us with a compelling meditation on the complex relationship between poetry, philosophy, and religion. He not only illuminates Derrida and Agambens engagement with poetry but allows poetry to talk back to philosophyand invites the reader to reconsider what is at stake every time we sit down to write.