The work of the decidedly philosophical poet Friedrich Holderlin has gained renewed urgency in its emphasis on the forces of nature that produce life and at the same time threaten to devour it. This volume brings Holderlin into dialogue with pre-Socratic and German Idealist thought as well as contemporary environmental theory to show the continued relevance of the poet's understanding of natural catastrophes. With twelve original contributions on Holderlin's poetry by noted scholars including Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei, Achim Geisenhansluke, Anja Lemke, Jan Mieszkowski, Katrin Pahl and Thomas Schestag, the book explores Holderlin's legacy and what it reveals about the impulses toward form and formlessness in nature and the role that poetry plays in fashioning a musical accord, or what Holderlin called 'harmonious opposition'.
