ABSTRACT
Louis Mackey's groundbreaking first book, Kierkegaard: A Kind of Poet, continues to be one of the most challenging and influential texts on Soren Kierkegaard. As a corrective to what has been called the "blunt reading" of Kierkegaard, this book challenges Kierkegaard scholars to confront the ineradicably poetic nature of Kierkegaard's works. Mackey carefully establishes this thesis throughout the main chapters of the book with close readings of most of the pseudonymous works and several of the edifying discourses. In the concluding chapter, Mackey provides an overview and analysis of the poetic techniques employed by Kierkegaard and shows how Kierkegaard masterfully utilizes these techniques to address life in all its absurd complexity and uncertainty while precluding any detached, purely reflective response from his reader. One of the things that readers find most striking and unique about Kierkegaard: A Kind of Poet is the artistry, elegance, wit, and moving passion of Mackey's writing.
