Philosophy of Practising

Antonia Pont is Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University, Australia. She publishes poetry, fiction and essays as well as theoretical work across writing, literature and the creative arts. Her research is concerned with time, transformation, ethical capacity, thought, movement and joy. She is the founder of Vijnana Yoga Australia (2009- ), where she continues to practise, teach and lead retreats. Her collection of poetry You Will Not Know in Advance What You’ll Feel was published in 2019 with Rabbit Poets Series and shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award (2020). She is co-author of Practising with Deleuze (Edinburgh University Press, 2017).

A Philosophy of Practising develops a philosophical understanding of the complexities and productivities of practices – artistic, sporting, nurturing or conceptual – that we engage with and call us beyond our current limits. It is a carefully conceived project that uses Gilles Deleuze’s philosophical insights regarding difference and repetition to articulate the ways in which practising enables new modes of self-creation.

• IntroductionA Framework for Practising: Deriving the Four CriteriaHabit’s Time: Between Routine & CompulsionA Different Difference & Repetition’s Three TimesRelaxation: That Unnatural EffortRepeating Repetition: Practising With the FutureConclusionWorks CitedIndex