The Wounds of Possibility

Essays on George Steiner

Edited By: Ricardo Gil Soeiro

£54.99

This timely volume offers an in-depth study of George Steiner, one of our most provocative thinkers. Leading scholars reflect on the relation between ethics and literature, philosophy and art, providing the most comprehensive engagement with Steiner’s work to date.

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.

Ricardo Gil Soeiro (PhD, Literary Studies) is a Professor at ISLA Campus Lisboa – Laureate International Universities. He is also a Researcher at the Research Center for Comparative Studies in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where he has taught graduate and postgraduate courses, ranging from contemporary Portuguese literature to the MA course ‘Memory and Literature in a Globalised Culture’. His interests include contemporary Portuguese poetry, Holocaust studies, the philosophy of language, ethics, hermeneutics, and memory studies. His publications include Gramática da Esperança (Vega, 2009), Iminência do Encontro (Roma, 2009), collections of poetry, and the edited volume O Pensamento tornado dança: estudos em torno de George Steiner (Roma, 2009). His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in numerous journals and collections, including Ellipsis, Ítaca, Impossibilia, and the Journal of Romance Studies. He is the recipient of several national literary and academic awards, including a PEN Prize, awarded in 2010.