Criticism in the Wilderness

Criticism in the Wilderness (1980) is a work by Geoffrey H. Hartman, a German-born American literary critic and theorist. Hartman's work opposed Anglo-American formalism and introduced Continental thought into North American literary criticism. He advocated for criticism as a creative act, viewing criticism and literature as intertwined discourses where the greatest writing is infinitely interpretable. In Criticism in the Wilderness, Hartman called for the integration of literature, history, and philosophy studies, challenging the notion that criticism is subordinate to creative writing.1