Words Fail
Theology, Poetry, and the Challenge of Representation
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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 philosophers—Jacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and Giorgio Agamben—as 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 reflection—all of which offer rich suggestions about our spiritual nature.
“Colby Dickinson provides us with a compelling meditation on the complex relationship between poetry, philosophy, and religion. He not only illuminates Derrida and Agamben’s engagement with poetry but allows poetry to talk back to philosophy—and invites the reader to reconsider what is at stake every time we sit down to write.”---—Adam Kotsko, Shimer College