AustLit

'It is well known that Australian poet Kevin Hart is interested in the relationship of theology and deconstruction, and that he is sympathetic to theorists such as Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Blanchot and Jacques Derrida, as well as to the dual tradition of theology (positive and negative). However, it seems to have gone unnoticed that Hart's poetry is also close to the thinking of Georges Battaille. To testify to this point, this essay explores how Hart's writing is resonant with Bataille's theory on religion and eroticism, and demonstrates, in the meantime, the ways of obtaining intimacy with the deity,or continuity of being, by reading two of his major poems, 'The Hall' (Hart, Flame Tree 194-4) and 'Madonna' (195-200), with some references to Bataille's works, including The Impossible, Story of the Eye, and L'ABBE C.)' (Author's introduction)