Philosophers' Poets — David Wood

"Philosopher's Poets" is a collection of case studies of philosophers' readings of poets and other distinctive writers. There are those who find literary examples ways of exploring the concrete significance of philisophical assertions or distinctions. Others find in poetic discourse linguistic resources not available to philosophy, but important to it. This is particularly true of philosophers of the limit. Heidegger, Derrida, Levinas and Adorno - for whom the very possibility of philosophy is now in question. Despite the diversity of subjects covered - Heidegger on Tolstoy, Derrida on Mallarme, Sartre on poetry, Bachelard on Shelley, Adorno on Beckett - the collection maintains an identity. It shows how contemporary Continental philosophy raises the issue of philosophy and literature anew in a way that is appealing and challenging.