Memory Of Absences Poem by gershon hepner

Memory of absences can sear
the unforgetting mind far more
than presences of power we revere,
and images we can ignore.


Inspired by the phrase “memory of absences” which Robert Alter used in a talk to the Association of Jewish Studies in which he spoke about the collective memory of the Israelites that the Deuteronomist inspired. Alter used the phrase “memory of absences” and highlighted the importance of the Deuteronomist’s rhetoric used to advance his program to purge Israel of all images.

Robert Alter’s response to the poem was as follows:

Dear Gershon,

Your poem is the highest compliment that could be paid to a lecture. One question: is 'that' at the beginning of the third line a typo for 'than'?

Cordially,

Bob Alter

He had picked up a typo that I had missed, signs of a great textual scholar!

12/16/02