critical artist as obituarial character

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Geoffrey H. Hartman died March 14. Notice is pieced together promptly. Literary thinking itself is concealed by imperative of casual reading. Otherwise, as Margalit Fox quotes Denis Donoghue, late 1980, “I wonder would that be worth the labor of understanding it?” Donoghue might better have added some punctuation: “I wonder: ‘Would that be worth the labor of understanding it?’.”

I want to dwell with the textuality of the obituary. Is that unfair?

But I don’t have time now. The obituary appeared March 20. This is a revised version of the March 20 note which goes far enough to show how challenging a furthering can become.

winter 2016

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March 20:

Last night (last night of winter, strictly speaking—though feeling spring), I was enthralled by all two hours of Terrence Malick’s latest cinepoem, “Knight of Cups,” which is so L.A., even in its precious meditativeness (which is a deliberate aspect of being in episodity). The narrative—and it is a narrative—isn’t philosophical, but far more than an autobio-graphical sequel to “Tree of Life”; and more than a visually surreal critique of hyper-mobile, simulacral, and attention-deficited bacchanalian urbanity. It’s a pensive and innerworldly chance for some leading LAers to confront their own kind: Think—transcended by the cinematic artistry (which is masterfully “spontaneous”), re: being and time in LaLa Land.

Through sensation, one finds affection, thereby gains connection for there being balance, love, clarity, joy, hope. Herewith, there’s time to begin.

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the role of Considerations with his ways

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I don’t want to give more attention to paranoid silliness about Heidegger’s animus toward German ideology, but I can’t resist noting that F.-W. von Herrmann’s authoritative view of Heidegger’s black notebooks concurs with my own.

I’ll eventually provide more detail—within proper context, i.e., in light of specific discussion of Heidegger’s Contributions to Philosophy. But I don’t plan to do that this season. The important point, though, is clearly asserted by von Herrmann.

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