Re: A Gulf Coast Christmas and a word on vigor...

Omlor@aol.com
Sat, 12 Dec 1998 12:42:20 -0500 (EST)

Jim,

I'm far away from home at the moment and have very limited time on this
machine for the next week, so I'm afraid I won't be able to continue the
discussion concerning the possible influences of Paul and the Midrash on JD
(and I do think I misunderstand the line as you were drawing it, I'm afraid).
In any case, to discuss such things properly, it would of course be necessary
to turn to specific texts and specific passages and I do not have my books at
the  moment (particularly, it seems to me, a look at "Circumfession" and at
"The Force of Law" would be most interesting here and would pose, I think, a
formidable challenge to your thesis conserning influence and the establishment
of value...  Derrida's writing and rewriting on the work of the Hebraic
scholar and creative writer Edmond Jabes would also be to the point).  I would
enjoy discussing all of this further, off list of course, when I had the texts
at hand and could cite the language specifically.  

I certainly would not want to enter into any too general and largely
irrrelevant discussion that uses terms like "postmodernism" or "post-
structuralism" (words Derrida not only avoids but has written specific
warnings about) in the way I have seen them used elsewhere on this list
repeatedly, since such terms, used in this vague and collective way, seemto me
to be most often trying to gather and elide over a wide body of very different
and radically heterogeneous texts by diverse thinkers in many traditions and
to group them all under a single rubric and a too convenient and sloppy
taxonomy, usually as a way to avoid reading or to hide not having read.  I
think you'll agree that such genereal discussions tend to lead only to gross
caricatures of complex texts that need to be carefullly read with attention to
detail.

Elsewhere, and another time, I would be delighted to engagein a more careful
discussion of these interesting and provocative issues concerning valueand
Derrida's writing. And, of course, I'm alwaysup for participating in Writer's
Groups and such.

I'll send you private mail when I return from my travels after the Holidays.

Enjoy the days and nights,

--John