The Work of Mourning
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by Jacques Derrida,
Edited by Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael Naas
University of Chicago Press
Due/Published
September 2003, 272 pages,
paper
ISBN
0226142817
New in paper (F03) "This astonishing book serves both as an introduction to contemporary French thought in all its depth and breadth and as a meditation on what it means to mourn the passing of friend and colleagues. Anyone who happens to be mortal and who has been forced to bear witness to the mortality of others should read this thoughtful and deeply felt book."--David Farrell Krell One must go before the other. This inevitability bestows upon the mourner of a friend a further inevitability--to say something and to participate in the codes and rites of mourning. Derrida has, like all of us, been forced to wrestle with the complexities of mourning, as his friends and colleagues have passed away before him. Gathered here are texts--letters of condolence, memorial essays, eulogies, funeral orations--written after the deaths of figures well known in France and in the United States: Roland Barthes, Paul de Man, Michel Foucault, Louis Althusser, Edmond Jabès, Louis Marin, Sarah Kofman, Gilles Deleuze, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jean-Francois Lyotard, as well as Max Loreau, Jean-Marie Benoist, Joseph Riddel, and Michel Servière. Many of the essays are available in English for the first time, and one, on Lyotard, has never been published before. Each chapter includes an introduction, as well as a biographical sketch of its subject. With his words, Derrida bears witness to the singularity of a friendship and to the absolute uniqueness of each relationship. In each case, he is acutely aware of the questions of tact, taste, and ethical responsibility involved in speaking of the dead--the risks of using the occasion for one's own purposes, political calculation, personal vendetta, and the expiation of guilt. More than a collection of memorial addresses, this volume sheds light not only on Derrida's relation to some of the most prominent French thinkers of the past quarter century but also on some of the most important themes of Derrida's entire work--mourning, the "gift of death," time, memory, and friendship itself. Contents Acknowledgments
Editors' Introduction: To Reckon with the Dead: Jacques Derrida's Politics of Mourning Chapter 1: Roland Barthes (1915-80)
The Deaths of Roland Barthes Chapter 2: Paul de Man (1919-83)
In Memoriam: Of the Soul Chapter 3: Michel Foucault (1926-84)
"To Do Justice to Freud" Chapter 4: Max Loreau (1928-90)
Letter to Francine Loreau Chapter 5: Jean-Marie Benoist (1942-90)
The Taste of Tears Chapter 6: Louis Althusser (1918-90)
Text Read at Louis Althusser's Funeral Chapter 7: Edmond Jabes (1912-91)
Letter to Didier Cahen Chapter 8: Joseph N. Riddel (1931-91)
A demi-mot Chapter 9: Michel Servi¸re (1941-91)
As If There Were an Art of the Signature Chapter 10: Louis Marin (1931-92)
By Force of Mourning Chapter 11: Sarah Kofman (1934-94) Chapter 12: Gilles Deleuze (1925-95)
I'm Going to Have to Wander All Alone Chapter 13: Emmanuel Levinas (1906-95)
Adieu Chapter 14: Jean-Fran¨ois Lyotard (1925-98)
All-Out Friendship Lyotard and Us Bibliographies, compiled by Kas Saghafi |
