Poetry as a Kenotic Exercise in “The Days of Job” by José Tolentino Mendonça

Abstract

This article examines how José Tolentino Mendonça's poem 'The Days of Job' reflects a kenotic spiritual exercise, explored from different angles, namely theology, literature and philosophy, to address human vulnerability and dignity. In this sense, the text explores the poetic and political dimensions of spirituality from the intersection between the theoretical references of Michel Foucault, Michel de Certeau and Giorgio Agamben. In Tolentino's poetics, Job is interpreted as an emblematic figure who transcends his biblical dimension and emerges as a metaphor for creative resilience and ethical struggle in times of crisis. Poetry is presented as an anagogic way of rediscovering the indelible beauty of life even in the most adverse circumstances, promo- ting a spirituality that resists the logic of discard and reinvents ways of inhabiting the world.