Paz, Octavio - Mario J. Valdés (essay date 1999)

Mario J. Valdés (essay date 1999)

SOURCE: Valdés, Mario J. “Literary Theory in an Age of Post-Theory.” In Explorations on Post-Theory: Toward a Third Space, pp. 85-94. Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert, 1999.

[In the following excerpt, Valdés considers the relationships between poetry and philosophy in Paz's works.]

Let us consider a specific problem: can poetry express philosophical concepts? Who has not at one time or another, thought about such ideas as freedom, truth, beauty, who we are, what sense, if any, we can make of the world we live in, or whether is is possible to fully know or love another. These subjects are primarily interpersonal topics taken up through the multiple forms of expression we live in and they are also the topics of philosophy and of poetry.

Societies differ markedly in how closely they listen to their poets. In France and Russia for example poetry has great social importance. In the United States the...

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