A Literary Shema

“Lori Kanitz has written a deeply learned and sensitive account of Dillard’s immersion in Hasidic and Kabbalistic mysticism which brings theology, both mystical and sacramental, into the very heart of her texts. The themes of creation, evil, and redemption are explored through Dillard’s Judeo-Christian sensitivities and reveal her profound and humane scholarship within both the Jewish and Christian traditions. Kanitz’s book itself is theologically and ethically challenging, a beautifully written essay on a major writer.”


—David Jasper, FRSA, FRSE, University of Glasgow and Renmin University of China





“Some of Annie Dillard’s best-known works have challenged conventional accounts of the divine’s relation to the world by setting vivid descriptions of its horrors alongside lyrical descriptions of its beauty. Inevitably, readers are puzzled at how this might fit with Dillard’s acknowledged sympathy for religious belief. In this brilliant, insightful study Lori Kanitz identifies the mystical Judaism of Kabbalah and Hasidism as the deepest influence on her. The result is not only a penetrating analysis of where Dillard stands (her shema or credo) but also a profound exploration of how encounters with negations of the good might best be understood.”


—David Brown, FBA, FRSE, University of St Andrews





“In this outstanding book Dr. Kanitz negotiates her way via ‘mystical’ Judaism into ‘the abyss of life’s mysteries’ interrogated by Annie Dillard’s unsparing and unsentimental intelligence. Moreover, she shows us Annie Dillard as theologian of divine ‘sacramental’ presence, in a creation of a ‘holy insecurity’ piercing God’s own being.”


—Ann Loades, CBE, University of Durham