Life as a Time of Approaching
April 26, 2014
National Poetry Month. 26
Path through Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle
Rhododendron
“I call ‘poet’ any writing being who sets out on this path, in quest of what I call the second innocence, the one that comes after knowing, the one that no longer knows, the one that knows how not to know.
I call ‘poet’ any writer, philosopher, author of plays, dreamer, producer of dreams, who uses life as a time of ‘approaching.'”
— Helene Cixous, “Coming to Writing” and Other Essays
Rosemary's Blog 
April 26, 2014 at 6:13 am
I’ve not heard of Cixous, but I see she’s French Algerian. I suspect that explains her use of the phrase, “second innocence.” Paul Ricoeur, the famous French philosopher and hermeneutician, was noted for his concept of a “second naiveté”, and it makes perfect sense that she would have picked up on it. They were contemporaries, too. They could have been dinner companions, for all that.
It’s always fun to see even the big boys and girls borrowing from one another. That first paragraph is pure Ricoeur. 😉
April 26, 2014 at 7:11 am
You amaze me with your breadth of knowledge. Thanks for the added perspective.
April 26, 2014 at 7:27 am
I found this book that someone scanned into a pdf file! Not sure the person who did the scanning should have done the scanning, though, if I like it, I will get a copy 🙂
April 26, 2018 at 6:09 am
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