Auden's O: The Loss of One's Sovereignty in the Making of Nothing

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments A book of this ambition and breadth does not come together—if it comes together at all—without the thoughts, input, and support of a great number of people. Many names are now lost to the process of thinking on so many different levels and over such a length of time. But some continue to stand out, with feedback that had direct impact on the content of the text: Tom Altizer, Pamela Sue Anderson, Andrew Cutrofello, Bettina Bergo, Ward Blanton, Val Cunningham, David Jasper, Werner Jeanrond, David Klemm, Ben Morgan, Dan Price, Robert Sherwood, and Heather Walton. Of course the more formative influence of these and others could never be captured, though my gratitude for such influence is as great if not greater. I am also deeply indebted to the anonymous reviewers of this manuscript, who drew my attention to the pockmarks and seams still present in the argument of the final draft. I also owe much thanks to the tremendous support of my colleagues at the University of Stirling, especially those in Critical Religion—Tim Fitzgerald, Alison Jasper, Michael Marten, Richard Roberts—who keep the inspiration for such interdisciplinary interrogations, amid the intensities of daily academic life, very much alive. But I owe my greatest gratitude to the love and support of my partner, Jennifer Davidson, whose indefatigable belief, even during the most arduous of times, and when our own children entered our lives, sustained me beyond my own belief, and in ways I cannot say. Thank you. Finally, I am grateful for the permission granted to use the following previously published material: “The Sea and the Mirror,” copyright 1944 and renewed 1972 by W.H. Auden, “One Circumlocution,” copyright © 1976 by Edward Mendelson, William Meredith and Monroe K. Spears, Executors of the Estate of W.H. Auden., from COLLECTED POEMS OF W. H. AUDEN by W.H. Auden. Used by permission of Random House, Inc. Any third party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited. Interested parties must apply directly to Random House, Inc. for permission. ix “On circumlocution” and “The Sea and the Mirror.” Copyright © 1947 and 1951 by W.H. Auden, renewed. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Excerpts from Endgame, English translation copyright © 1957 by the Estate of Samuel Beckett. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. and of Faber and Faber Ltd. Excerpts from “Texts for Nothing”, copyright © 1995 by the Estate of Samuel Beckett. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. and of Faber and Faber Ltd. Excerpts from The Unnamable, English translation copyright © 1958 by the Estate of Samuel Beckett. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. and of Faber and Faber Ltd. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...