Poetry and Mysticism

This course explores the interfaces of poetic and mystical speech across times and cultures. Topics include performance; subjectivity; spiritual/erotic love; linguistic fragmentation; the limits of language; and, finally, the question of apophasis as a subversive act. Sources range from the 10th to the 20th century and include Ramon Llull, Santa Teresa, Saint John of the Cross, the Judaic tradition, Hallaj, Rumi, Persianate Sufism, Meister Eckhart, Angelus Silesius, Paul Celan, Simone Weil, Georges Bataille, Juan Goytisolo, and Andrei Tarkovsky. Taught in English.