Metapoetry in With my dog eyes [Com os meus olhos de cão], by Hilda Hilst: transcendence as a poetic-philosophical experience

Abstract

This paper presents an interpretation of the theme of transcendence in With my dog eyes, by Hilda Hilst, considering it as an example of the poetic disposition of her work. Such reading is based on Giorgio Agamben’s understanding of transcendence as an experimentum linguae, i.e., a poetic experience with language. We assume here that the character Amós Kéres, poet and mathematician, symbolizes the figure of the romantic writer in search of the originality of his writing. By narrating Amós’ experience of a profound existential tedium – in dialogue with Goethe’s Faust – Hilda Hilst presents the creative process (poiesis) as an experience formally identical to a philosopher’s experience when confronting nothingness.