The affirming flame

by Maurice S. Friedman

In The Affirming Flame: A Poetics of Meaning, Professor Maurice S. Friedman explores the rich tapestry of our humanness as we strive to find meaning in our experiences, even in the midst of the evil and death that threaten to put an end to it all. This struggle is vividly captured in literary and poetic works that epitomize what Friedman describes as our effort to hold the tension between affirming where we can affirm and withstanding where we must withstand. Friedman continues an old and longstanding love: a poetics of dialogue with modern literature. Such a poetics sees literature and its interpretation in terms of what philosopher Martin Buber calls "meeting" or "the between." Friedman's powerful study boldly asserts that meaning can be reached through an engagement with classic works of world literature to arrive at a more powerful and purposeful affirmation while holding the tension with what is negative.