Closet Devotions by Richard Rambuss

Closet Devotions by Richard Rambuss

Traces the relays between these cultural formations by examining the issue of sacred eroticism, the literary or artistic expression of devotional feelings in erotic terms that has repeatedly occurred over the centuries.

“Closet Devotions is a bold and original workRambuss asks us to take seriously the relation between sexual and religious affect in the Renaissance devotional lyric, without reducing one to the other. In a series of virtuoso readings, he brings together two previously distant fields of scholarly inquiry, enriching our sense of the affective intensity of religious lyric at the same time that he demonstrates the astonishing scope of human sexuality.”—John David Guillory, Harvard University
“[Closet Devotions] is vividly and clearly written, it is original in its insistence on seeing the ‘sacred eroticism’ of the lyric it studies as eroticism, and it is interestingly provocative in its juxtapositions of that lyric to present-day queer representations.”—Henry Abelove, Wesleyan University
“Closet Devotions is a brilliant exposition of the carnal subtext of Renaissance spirituality and a major contribution to our understanding of religious verse.” -- Richard C. McCoy * Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *
“Closet Devotions is both impressive and potentially disquieting scholarship. . . . It is to be hoped that interested Hispanists will take advantage of Rambuss’s insights.” -- Christopher B. Weimer * Calíope *
"[A] provocative and well-written book . . . . [I]mpressive reading . . . . [A] bold book . . . . [A] major critical intervention in seventeenth-century studies. It will remain a central part of the conversation for some time to come."

-- Michael Schoenfeldt * Modern Philology *
"Rambuss's readings demonstrate the breadth of the Christian tradition against its own normalizing and constraining tendencies." -- Amy Hollywood * Signs *

Richard Rambuss is Associate Professor of English at Emory University. He is the author of Spenser’s Secret Career.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780822321972
ISBN 10	0822321971
Title	Closet Devotions
Author	Richard Rambuss
Series	Series Q
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Duke University Press
Year published	1998-08-26
Number of pages	208
Prizes	Short-listed for Lambda Literary Awards (Spirituality) 1998, Short-listed for Triangle Awards (Gay Nonfiction) 1999
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.