The Wounds Of Possibility

Bringing together writers, translators, poets, and leading scholars of cultural theory, literary theory, comparative literature, philosophy, history, political science, music studies, and education, The Wounds of Possibility aims to offer an in-depth and wide-ranging study of George Steiner’s imposing body of work. This book is a timely volume of important essays on one of the most provocative thinkers, critics, and philosophers now writing. During an era in which the question of the ethical and of the status of the work of art, and its relation to the theological dimension, has returned with renewed urgency, Steiner’s work provides rich resources for reflection and it is hoped that the volume will stand on its own as a rich, nuanced accompaniment to the reading of Steiner’s work. With their broad range of thematic foci, theoretical approaches, and stunning constellations of quoted material from different backgrounds, all the essays in the book try to reflect upon the relation between human identity and language, ethics and literature, philosophy and art, and they all offer what we regard as being the most comprehensive engagement with Steiner’s work to date.

This book examines developmental theory in light of heroic narrative and argues that such theory should be adjusted to accommodate the experience of those who are, in many ways, our principal role models, examining figures such as Jane Austen, T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill and George S. Patton, Jr.