A Literary Philtrum or the Last Cultural Intimacy

Branko Vraneš

European Review, 2015, vol. 23, issue 3, 379-385

Abstract: The philtrum – the small groove above the upper lip of every human being – is, according to Hebrew myth, the mark of an angel’s touch. The fullness and beauty of this myth does not prevent us from almost having forgotten it, while the difficulty of talking about something so human and common to all of mankind as the philtrum, within the framework of academia, provides clear evidence of the alienation of cultural discourse from its essence – the achievement of intimate, unmediated connection between cultures and nations. Likewise, despite the literary-theoretical oblivion of important ideas of literariness and the ontological cognitive power of literature, literary works, such as those of Meša Selimović, are still able to teach us about the beauty of (mutual) existence and the importance of cultural dialogue. In a sense, literature is a reservoir of humanity and a reminder of the importance of intimate human contact through cultural dialogue in the age of globalization and mechanization.

Date: 2015
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