This dissertation consists of two distinct parts. The first investigates the theory of the lyric in the work of Theodor W. Adorno. The second entails an engagement with that theory through a collection of original lyric poems. The three case studies of the critical apparatus track how it is that Adorno’s conception of the lyric serves as a metonymic cipher for his work as a whole, one which reemphasizes and remediates several key concepts in his thinking.
After a brief introduction, the first of these chapters approaches Adorno’s notion of the subject-object dialectic through the lens of his own attempts at writing lyric poetry. The second addresses the metaphysical remainder in Adorno’s materialist philosophy alongside the wartime poetics of Wallace Stevens, paying special attention to Adorno’s famous dictum against poetry after Auschwitz. The third chapter attempts to outline the appearance of a paradoxical “inverse” theology at the heart of Adorno’s thinking by reading it through the lyric of Ingeborg Bachmann.
As a kind of master star map to the constellation herein, both this suite of investigations and the poems that follow pay special attention to figures of thought which aporically survives their own negation, historically, theoretically, and poetically.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation consists of two distinct parts. The first investigates the theory of the lyric in the work of Theodor W. Adorno. The second entails an engagement with that theory through a collection of original lyric poems. The three case studies of the critical apparatus track how it is that Adorno’s conception of the lyric serves as a metonymic cipher for his work as a whole, one which reemphasizes and remediates several key concepts in his thinking.</p> <p>After a brief introduction, the first of these chapters approaches Adorno’s notion of the subject-object dialectic through the lens of his own attempts at writing lyric poetry. The second addresses the metaphysical remainder in Adorno’s materialist philosophy alongside the wartime poetics of Wallace Stevens, paying special attention to Adorno’s famous dictum against poetry after Auschwitz. The third chapter attempts to outline the appearance of a paradoxical “inverse” theology at the heart of Adorno’s thinking by reading it through the lyric of Ingeborg Bachmann.</p> <p>As a kind of master star map to the constellation herein, both this suite of investigations and the poems that follow pay special attention to figures of thought which aporically survives their own negation, historically, theoretically, and poetically.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kovalenko, George"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Graham Foust","R. D. Perry","Clark Davis","Sarah Pessin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06-15T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-06-15T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z","subjects":["Adorno","Lyric","Poetry","Frankfurt school","Aesthetics","Critical theory","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/restrictedetd/108","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Graham Foust","R. D. Perry","Clark Davis","Sarah Pessin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kovalenko, George"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Adorno","Lyric","Poetry","Frankfurt school","Aesthetics","Critical theory","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (eng)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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After a brief introduction, the first of these chapters approaches Adorno’s notion of the subject-object dialectic through the lens of his own attempts at writing lyric poetry. The second addresses the metaphysical remainder in Adorno’s materialist philosophy alongside the wartime poetics of Wallace Stevens, paying special attention to Adorno’s famous dictum against poetry after Auschwitz. The third chapter attempts to outline the appearance of a paradoxical “inverse” theology at the heart of Adorno’s thinking by reading it through the lyric of Ingeborg Bachmann.
As a kind of master star map to the constellation herein, both this suite of investigations and the poems that follow pay special attention to figures of thought which aporically survives their own negation, historically, theoretically, and poetically.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Philosophical Sundials: Adorno and the Lyric"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Graham Foust","R. D. Perry","Clark Davis","Sarah Pessin"],"dc:creator":["Kovalenko, George"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation consists of two distinct parts. The first investigates the theory of the lyric in the work of Theodor W. Adorno. The second entails an engagement with that theory through a collection of original lyric poems. The three case studies of the critical apparatus track how it is that Adorno’s conception of the lyric serves as a metonymic cipher for his work as a whole, one which reemphasizes and remediates several key concepts in his thinking.
After a brief introduction, the first of these chapters approaches Adorno’s notion of the subject-object dialectic through the lens of his own attempts at writing lyric poetry. The second addresses the metaphysical remainder in Adorno’s materialist philosophy alongside the wartime poetics of Wallace Stevens, paying special attention to Adorno’s famous dictum against poetry after Auschwitz. The third chapter attempts to outline the appearance of a paradoxical “inverse” theology at the heart of Adorno’s thinking by reading it through the lyric of Ingeborg Bachmann.
As a kind of master star map to the constellation herein, both this suite of investigations and the poems that follow pay special attention to figures of thought which aporically survives their own negation, historically, theoretically, and poetically.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/restrictedetd/108"],"dc:language":["English (eng)"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Adorno","Lyric","Poetry","Frankfurt school","Aesthetics","Critical theory","Arts and Humanities","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Philosophical Sundials: Adorno and the Lyric"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z"}