The Legacy of Henry Corbin: Adonis at the 92nd St Y

"...the Imagination (or love, or sympathy, or any other sentiment) induces knowledge, and knowledge of an 'object' which is proper to it..."

Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a scholar, philosopher and theologian. He was a champion of the transformative power of the Imagination and of the transcendent reality of the individual in a world threatened by totalitarianisms of all kinds. One of the 20th century’s most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Corbin was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Teheran. He was a major figure at the Eranos Conferences in Switzerland. He introduced the concept of the mundus imaginalis into contemporary thought. His work has provided a foundation for archetypal psychology as developed by James Hillman and influenced countless poets and artists worldwide. But Corbin’s central project was to provide a framework for understanding the unity of the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His great work Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi is a classic initiatory text of visionary spirituality that transcends the tragic divisions among the three great monotheisms. Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalisms of every kind. His work marks a watershed in our understanding of the religions of the West and makes a profound contribution to the study of the place of the imagination in human life.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Adonis at the 92nd St Y - New York, OCT 25

"Long considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Syrian poet Adonis is "today's most daring and provocative Arab poet," wrote Edward Said. Now 80 and living in Paris, Adonis makes his first appearance at the Poetry Center, reading from his newly published Selected Poems." DETAILS HERE

Praise for the Selected Poems: “Poetry is the most authentic cultural medium of the Arabs, and the Syrian-born Adonis is one of its sublime masters. For well over half a century now, Adonis has given voice to the Odyssey and yearnings of the Arabs, he has modernized a revered and ancient art form. Khaled Mattawa has rendered Adonis into English with beguiling beauty and fidelity. His exquisite translation does justice to one of the great poets of our time."—Professor Fouad Ajami, The Johns Hopkins University