Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1950–2009)

A Buddhist reading of Proust's obsession with reincarnation, atmospheric disturbances, and the way he handles and textualizes refreshment and surprise; bringing Proust into dialogue with Cavafy's poetry to discuss the interplay between desire, pedagogy, and the act of writing; Sedgwick's assessment of queer theory today and an urge—knowing she was soon to die—for a reassessment of Hocquenghem's work; all of these pieces then hinge around the personal as revolutionary, making art as a means of leaving pieces of oneself behind, and how suffering, transcending, and becoming aware of one's limitations and one's own mortality all inform the act of reading and the theoretical scope of any given project. The last chapter, Sedgwick's personal reflections as her end grew nearer, is harrowing just as it is enlightening. The world has lost a pioneering and truly radical intellect.… (altro)