Towards a critical poetics of compassionate gesture. Poems in the crossroads between subaltern and affective studies

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Published: Nov 13, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6035/clr.6363
Keywords:
affect theory, subaltern studies, compassion, non-lyric poetry, Tony García del Río

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Mercè Picornell
Universitat de les Illes Balears. LICETC
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6289-0980

Abstract

This article aims to provide tools for considering the crossroads between affective studies and subaltern studies. It analyses how compassion is a relevant critical place to question the complexity of this intersection. It has motivated both defences about its link with justice and objections that denounce the hierarchy implicit in compassion. Issues such as social distance, intellectual commitment or the links between emotion and power are important both in the discussion of subaltern and affective studies and in the debate on compassion, which has been especially relevant in the American political context. To specify the analysis, it is postulated that contemporary poetry is a suitable genre to motivate a reflection on the tension between individual emotion and public commitment that the debate on compassion promotes. The article concludes with an analysis of Resistir a les palpentes (2020), a collection of poems by Tony García del Río, whose texts propose a sensitive gesture towards the other that challenges the usual formulations of compassion.

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How to Cite
Picornell, M. (2022). Towards a critical poetics of compassionate gesture. Poems in the crossroads between subaltern and affective studies. Culture, Language and Representation, 29, 91–108. https://doi.org/10.6035/clr.6363
Issue
Vol. 29 (2022): Contemporary Poetry and Affect Studies: Theoretical Approaches and Readings
Section
ARTÍCULOS / ARTICLES

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