If Walter Benjamin (with an irony that belies his seemingly tragic life) is now recognized as one of the century’s most important writers, reading him is no easy matter. Benjamin opens one of his most notable essays, “The Task of the Translator,” with the words “No poem is intended for the reader, no image for the be-holder, no symphony for the listener.” How does one read an author who tells us that writing does not communicate very much to the reader?
How does one learn to regard what comes to us from Benj…
