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ISBN: 9781041093459
Daisaku Ikeda, Transnationalism, and American Literature: Dialogues of the Heart examines the writings of Nichiren Buddhist philosopher, poet, and peacebuilder Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023), focusing on how American literature and transnationalism are integral to the development of his Buddhist philosophy as well as his global endeavors in peacebuilding, inter-faith dialogue, and humanistic education.
Each chapter explores his engagement with a diverse array of literary texts, from Emerson, Whitman, and other authors of the American Renaissance to the philosophical pragmatism of John Dewey and Martin Luther King Jr., African American literature by Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes, and a global culture of letters by Muriel Rukeyser, Ben Okri, and others. Throughout, contributors demonstrate the transformative power of literature and philosophy, not least their capacities to inspire dialogue, both internally within each reader but also among individuals of varied backgrounds. Other topics addressed include how poetry enables a pragmatist call to social action and how Buddhism inspired avant-gardism in American literature in general and Black literature in particular in the United States, as well as in Africa.
This edited volume utilizes a range of methodologies to study Ikeda, including a historicist analysis of Ikeda’s evolving engagement with American literature, the application of literary theory and philosophy to Ikeda’s work, and comparative analyses of Ikeda’s views with other thinkers, as well as analyses of Ikeda’s poetry alongside that of other poets.
Anita Patterson is Professor of English at Boston University, USA. She is the author of From Emerson to King: Democracy, Race, and the Politics of Protest and Race, American Literature and Transnational Modernisms. She has also contributed a chapter to Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Context.
Daisaku Ikeda’s Dialogues of the Heart: An Introduction
Anita Patterson
Daisaku Ikeda, Transnationalism, and American Literature: Dialogues of the Heart examines the writings of Nichiren Buddhist philosopher, poet, and peacebuilder Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023), focusing on how American literature and transnationalism are integral to the development of his Buddhist philosophy as well as his global endeavors in peacebuilding, inter-faith dialogue, and humanistic education.
Each chapter explores his engagement with a diverse array of literary texts, from Emerson, Whitman, and other authors of the American Renaissance to the philosophical pragmatism of John Dewey and Martin Luther King Jr., African American literature by Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes, and a global culture of letters by Muriel Rukeyser, Ben Okri, and others. Throughout, contributors demonstrate the transformative power of literature and philosophy, not least their capacities to inspire dialogue, both internally within each reader but also among individuals of varied backgrounds. Other topics addressed include how poetry enables a pragmatist call to social action and how Buddhism inspired avant-gardism in American literature in general and Black literature in particular in the United States, as well as in Africa.
This edited volume utilizes a range of methodologies to study Ikeda, including a historicist analysis of Ikeda’s evolving engagement with American literature, the application of literary theory and philosophy to Ikeda’s work, and comparative analyses of Ikeda’s views with other thinkers, as well as analyses of Ikeda’s poetry alongside that of other poets.
Anita Patterson is Professor of English at Boston University, USA. She is the author of From Emerson to King: Democracy, Race, and the Politics of Protest and Race, American Literature and Transnational Modernisms. She has also contributed a chapter to Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Context.
Daisaku Ikeda’s Dialogues of the Heart: An Introduction
Anita Patterson
