The ethos of poetry and its social efficacy cannot be underestimated in the quest for a fair society. The works of three contemporary Mexican poets – Abigael Bohórquez, Myriam Moscona, and Gloria Gervitz – offer models for examining important philosophical and literary questions that explore the relationship between art and the enactment of justice.
Beyond Intimacy returns lyric poetry to the centre of struggles for justice within concrete historical frameworks, highlighting gender, ethnic, and cultural tensions. Through an analysis of works by these three poets, Christina Karageorgou-Bastea reveals the far-reaching social transcendence of poetry; she shows that lyric poetry invites a public dialogue where queer pariahs model citizenship, a dying language guards and transmits tradition, and the end of motherhood is the cusp in the struggle for woman’s freedom. The radicalization of intimacy, the relationship par excellence between self and other on which poetic interaction is based, has the power to dismantle deeply rooted hierarchies within art and society. Karageorgou-Bastea explores poetry’s potential for justice through different modes of intimacy including desire, filiation, and mourning.
Meeting on the grounds of their aspiration to harmony, lyricism, and justice-making lead the way to social equity and fairness in Beyond Intimacy.

Christina Karageorgou-Bastea is associate professor of Spanish at Vanderbilt University.

Christina Karageorgou-Bastea's profile page

"Karageorgou-Bastea builds a diverse theoretical frame including Alain Badiou, Mikhail Bakhtin, Lauren Berlant, and Mary Evans, among others. This work is of particular interest to scholars of contemporary Mexican poetry. It provides valuable notes. Recommended." Choice

“Thoroughly researched and unique in its field, Beyond Intimacy makes an extraordinary contribution to the understanding of poetry and justice during traumatic events in history. Karageorgou-Bastea's ideas are truly brilliant and important.” Marjorie Agosin, Wellesley College