The presentation Poetry and the Sublime explores the connection between poetry and the notion of the sublime. Through four selected poems—"Borders," "Mariken van Nieumeghen," "The Inhuman," and *"Buddha"—*the talk illustrates how poetry engages with and evokes the sublime, offering a deeper reflection on its significance and impact.
"The sublime pushes language beyond its limits, reaching for the ineffable and evoking what cannot be fully grasped—just as poetry does. Both expand expression into the unknown, using rhythm, imagery, and metaphor to gesture toward what escapes direct articulation. In this way, the sublime and poetry share a function: they explore the edges of experience, giving form to what overwhelms, astonishes, and transcends the ordinary."
The project is part of the subtheme Poetry and the Digital Commons - New platforms, new audiences.
Author
Miglena Dikova-Milanova
Miglena Dikova-Milanova is a lecturer of Bulgarian language and culture at the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University.
She holds a PhD in Philosophy from KU Leuven, 2008. Her research interests and publications include Russian and Bulgarian classic and contemporary literature, in particular M. Bulgakov, L. Tolstoy, A. Popov and G. Gospodinov, literary history and criticism, philosophy of culture and aesthetics.
Miglena Dikova-Milanova is the author of two poetry books, "Будна вода" (“Wake water”,1992) and “4(four)2(two)на” (2021).
