Geneses, Genealogies, Genres and Genius : The Secrets of the Archive

This work is Derrida's response to Helene Cixous' "Dream I Tell You".

This is the first translation of the keynote address Derrida delivered at the inaugural conference of the Helene Cixous archive at the National Library in Paris.

Using Cixous's "Dream I Tell You" as a reference, Derrida argues that Cixous is the most important writer working within the French idiom today.

He also explores the notion of a female genius, as well as allowing readers to puzzle the genealogy of deconstruction and consider the importance of poetic and sexual difference to the entirety of his work.

Derrida admits that he has always been a devotee of Cixous, and this book charts the influence these two critical giants have had on each other's work.

Geneses, Genealogies, Genres, and Genius is the most vital work to address Helene Cixous's contribution to French thought and is essential reading for scholars and enthusiasts hoping to better understand the relationship between Derrida and Cixous.

Edited by Martin McQuillan, this series brings together internationally respected figures to comment on and re-describe the state of theory in the twenty-first century.