The Wake of Jacques Derrida

Peggy Kamuf author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Edinburgh University Press

Published:5th Oct '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Wake of Jacques Derrida cover

This book collects ten years of Peggy Kamuf's writing on the work and friendship of Jacques Derrida. The majority of the chapters discuss a key aspect of Derrida's thought, either from a single work or across several texts. Kamuf engages with a broad array of his work, from the 1960s to the posthumous publication of his teaching seminars. She also considers press interviews and the collaboration on a film. These close readings are punctuated by brief recollections from their long friendship. The chapters trace a reflection that undergoes the sudden event of Derrida's death. Rather than take this interruption as its premise, however, the book sets out from Derrida's own teaching that mourning begins with friendship and not just at the death of the friend. Thus, the strict chronology of the chapters, from 2000 to 2010, highlights a general illusion of 'before' and 'after' that comes undone over the course of the sequence.

Already recognized as one of the most brilliant and resourceful critical voices on both sides of the Atlantic, Peggy Kamuf's new book once again demonstrates her exemplarity as a reader of Derrida's texts. From her remarks on sovereignty and possibility to her commentaries on death and mourning, Kamuf's writing bears witness to an outstanding mind at work. -- Lawrence D. Kritzman, John D. Willard Professor of French, Oratory and Comparative Literature Dartmouth Jacques Derrida used the phrases "friendly vigilance" and "rigorous collaboration" to describe Peggy Kamuf's long engagement with his work. The essays collected in this volume amply demonstrate the twin qualities he thus summed up: a warm appreciation of his achievement and the positive force of his example together with an acute eye, and ear, for the fine details of his language and his argumentation. No-one gets closer to both the spirit and the letter of Derrida's writing. -- Derek Attridge, University of York. Already recognized as one of the most brilliant and resourceful critical voices on both sides of the Atlantic, Peggy Kamuf's new book once again demonstrates her exemplarity as a reader of Derrida's texts. From her remarks on sovereignty and possibility to her commentaries on death and mourning, Kamuf's writing bears witness to an outstanding mind at work. Jacques Derrida used the phrases "friendly vigilance" and "rigorous collaboration" to describe Peggy Kamuf's long engagement with his work. The essays collected in this volume amply demonstrate the twin qualities he thus summed up: a warm appreciation of his achievement and the positive force of his example together with an acute eye, and ear, for the fine details of his language and his argumentation. No-one gets closer to both the spirit and the letter of Derrida's writing.

ISBN: 9780748641543

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 494g

224 pages