Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series

Poetry and Logocentrism: Reading Octavio Paz from Jacques Derrida’s Perspective
Professor Mario Higa, Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Octavio Paz’s poetry is built upon tensions. However, one of these tensions becomes an impasse when viewed from a Derridean perspective. In my lecture, I will point out and analyze this impasse, which involves both the notion of logos and the concept of Nietzschean affirmation as defined by Jacques Derrida in his critique of logocentrism. Ultimately, the unresolved impasse in Octavio Paz’s poetic works finds an outlet in his political thought.