If we can’t ‘explain’ a poem as we would a machine, or solve it as we would a crossword puzzle, we do find ourselves pulled in various directions as we try to understand it. We try different approaches, including one based on the Augustinian itinerary: from the outer to the inner, from the lower to the higher. Thus hermeneutics becomes a sort of play.
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Author: Tom D'Evelyn
Tom D'Evelyn is a private editor and writing tutor in Cranston RI and, thanks to the web, across the US and in the UK. He can be reached at tom.develyn@comcast.net. D'Evelyn has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. Before retiring he held positions at The Christian Science Monitor, Harvard University Press, Boston University and Brown University. He ran a literary agency for ten years, publishing books by Leonard Nathan and Arthur Quinn, among others. Before moving to Portland OR he was managing editor at Single Island Press, Portsmouth NH. He blogs at http://tdevelyn.com and other sites.
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