#  His Hiding Place Is Darkness 

 





April 10, 2015

 

 

Cambridge, MA. More than a year ago, I published a book entitled *His Hiding Place Is Darkness: Toward a Hindu-Catholic Theopoetics of Divine Absence* (Stanford University Press, 2013). Various factors - sabbatical, availability of respondents, Boston's massive snow storms - delayed our discussion of the book at Harvard for many months, but it will finally be discussed at the Center for the Study of World Religions on April 20 at 5:15pm.

I will introduce the book and explain why I read together the Song of Songs and the Hindu Holy Word of Mouth, guided by revered medieval commentators (including Bernard of Clairvaux) on both sides; how Hans Urs Von Balthasar became invaluable to holding the book together as a work of dramatic theology; how the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jorie Graham likewise became an inspiration regarding how to write prose about poetry; and how I decided on the "hiding of the Beloved" as a most intense form of divine presence, during and after comparative study. (Indian artist Jyoti Sahi's artwork appears on the cover.)

Then three respondents (Catherine Cornille \[Boston College\], Kimberley Patton \[Harvard\], and Jorie Graham herself \[Harvard\]) will discuss the book from various angles, and general discussion will follow. This is not a book event in the sense of an occasion to sell books, since copies will not be available, but rather an occasion for intellectual exchange. I am looking forward to this opportunity to share in a public conversation about my work.

Jonathan Beasley in the Communications Office at HDS interviewed me recently about the book, as a kind of preview, and posted the resultant Q & A on the book at the Harvard Divinity website [here](http://hds.harvard.edu/news/2015/04/09/loving-god-always-risk). You might find our conversation interesting.

Of course, if you are in area, you are welcome to come to the Center (42 Francis Avenue) at 5:15pm on April 20, and join in the conversation!