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- Title
NAILED AND AFLAME: ANNIE DILLARD'S BONAVENTURIAN MYSTICISM.
- Authors
Drahos, Kristen
- Abstract
This article argues that Annie Dillard's work presents a unique, contemporary expression of cruciform mysticism. The article first contextualizes Dillard as a thinker who moves beyond the traditional Christian demarcations of the via positiva and the via negativa, as well as a writer who goes beyond the ecstatic experiences of natural transcendentalists. I claim that Dillard is a mystic, but one who more closely aligns with the Franciscan tradition in general and Bonaventure in particular. I show that her negative experiences of ecstasy express a distinct commitment to the form of the cross and offer a challenging vision of cruciform solidarity. This article fits within the collection of writings on Dillard's non-fiction, but highlights further riches that come from her cruciform mystical dimensions. I argue that Dillard's increased mystical and religious range in her later work indicates not a decision against Christianity, but rather a decision against whitewashed imagery of resurrected glory. I show how Dillard's whole corpus reveals a profound marking by the cross, as well as the need for and cost of Christian solidarity with the world's wounded.
- Subjects
DILLARD, Annie, 1945-; CHRISTIAN mysticism; TRANSCENDENTALISTS (New England); HOLY Cross; NEGATIVE theology
- Publication
Religion & Literature, 2019, Vol 51, Issue 2, p91
- ISSN
0888-3769
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1353/rel.2019.0031