"Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe (1940-2007) was a professor of philosophy, and also a poet, a translator and a playwright. His life and work were dedicated to the philosophical and political movements of the post-1968 era, from his communal life together with Jean-Luc Nancy to his collaborations with Jacques Derrida. These movements also carried him towards disparate modes of writing such as poetry and theatre. The tension between Lacoue-Labarthe's timely and untimely meditations governs the approach in this study, the first to attempt an accessible and comprehensive account of this forceful thinker."

John McKeane

Introduction Part I: Timely Meditations 1. Avant-garde 2. Philosophy and the Political 3. L'Écriture Part II: Untimely Meditations The Stage (Introduction) The Stage (Tragedy) The Stage (Opera) 5. Phrase 6. Conclusion: Mimesis