Thanks, Janice. That's interesting what you say about embedding the philosophical background in your writing so that it's more or less invisible on the surface (I think that's what you meant in your posting). Many good writers do that. I'm thinking of Richard Wilbur right now but there are lots. In his famous poem "Love Calls Us to the Things of This World," the only explicit trace of philosophical reading is in the title itself, which is a quote from Augustine. But the rest is a concretization of the idea, an embodiment of it. That's why, although I enjoy reading philosophy, I like poetry more--embodied thought leaves a much more vivid impression. At the same time, philosophy can help to vaporize what's too concrete.
The alchemical formula "dissolve and coagulate" might be seen as describing the tension between thought and representation.
Editing back in to add: I know what you mean about gaps in knowledge! Christ, I'm more gaps than knowledge in this. I'm just fishing around in GT to get some leads!
[This message has been edited by Andrew Frisardi (edited August 28, 2008).]
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