Overview

Published in 1992, Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy: Detheologizing Dante was a clarion call for a paradigmatic shift in reading Dante's Commedia. Bringing together an international cadre of scholars, A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of 'The Undivine Comedy' illustrates the generative influence that Barolini's approach has exerted across continents, disciplines, and generations. It testifies to the variety of interpretations that originate in her method, and opens new perspectives on Dante's oeuvre and the significance of literature.

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9783965581074

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Reviews

Thirty-three years after The Undivine Comedy saw the light, this volume, edited by Kristina M. Olson is an excellent guide for first-time readers of Teodolinda Barolini's book, and an opportunity for old hands to revisit it, asking themselves whether or not they fully absorbed it the first timearound. In A World of Possibilities, Olson brings together Barolini with the author's former students and colleagues in an inspired and inspiring collaboration that, while paying tribute to a past milestone in Dante studies, shows the multiple directions in which it continues to evolve. An extraordinary example of the complexity and vitality of Dante studies, and a splendid sign of faith in the power of literary criticism at a time when the future of the republic of letters seems uncertain. - Lino Pertile, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Emeritus at Harvard University. Readers of this impressive volume will come away convinced of the continuing vitality of Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy, which continues to inspire scholars in the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy. Barolini's close attention to the significance of Dante's narrative and poetic choices -analysed with characteristic candor and critical acumen in a rich essay 'On Method' written for this volume -remains a touchstone for efforts to bring Dante's poem into new conversations about history, logic, canon law, military strategy, vision, violence, prophecy, and the de-colonial, to mention only some of the themes that appear in this collection. Putting Barolini's critical principles into practice, these essays not only constitute tributes to Barolini's foundational work but also establish the foundations for the future of field.- Martin Eisner, Professor of Italian at Duke University.

Author Information

Kristina M. Olson is Associate Professor of Italian in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at George Mason University. She is the author of Courtesy Lost: Dante, Boccaccio and the Literature of History (2014), and several articles and essays on Dante and Boccaccio. She co-edited four volumes, including Approaches to Teaching Dante's Divine Comedy with Christopher Kleinhenz. She has served as Vice President of the Dante Society of America, and as President, Vice President and Treasurer of the American Boccaccio Association. She is the current Editor-in-Chief of Dante Studies.

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