AUC Theologica is a peer-reviewed journal for theology published twice a year. As we publish original papers in English, German, French, and Italian, our mission is to serve as a platform both for Czech researchers, who can present their research results in these languages, and for international contributors, who are invited to enter the academic theological discussion in the heart of Europe.
The journal focuses on a wide range of theological disciplines, such as systematic theology, biblical studies, patristic studies, pastoral and spiritual theology, religious education, church history, etc. Within these fields, the journal seeks to reflect the current theological questions and problems, which often requires interdisciplinary approaches. Supporting the intersection of various theological disciplines, we thus also welcome theological papers touching other academic fields including philosophy, sociology, literary studies, and science.
Each issue consists of two sections. The thematic section presents papers of the same focus. The section called ‘Varia’ invites papers dealing with various theological themes from the perspective of all Christian traditions. Our current and past issues are approachable for free on this website in the form of Open Access.
AUC THEOLOGICA, Vol 14 No 2 (2024), 73–93
Poetry as a Kenotic Exercise in José Tolentino Mendonça’s ‘The Days of Job’
Alex Villas Boas
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363398.2025.5
published online: 12. 09. 2025
abstract
This article explores the intersection of theology, literature and spirituality in José Tolentino Mendonça’s The Days of Job, focusing on poetry as a kenotic exercise of self-emptying (kenosis). By engaging with biblical literature, particularly the Book of Job, Mendonça reimagines poetic language as a space of vulnerability and transformation that resists ideological rigidity and fosters ethical openness. The study explores how Mendonça’s poetics resonates with Michel de Certeau’s heterology, Michel Foucault’s notion of political spirituality, and Giorgio Agamben’s critique of the loss of poiesis in modernity. In dialogue with patristic interpretations of Job (Gregory the Great, Basil of Caesarea) as well as contemporary philosophical readings (Fredric Jameson, Antonio Negri), this work argues that Mendonça’s poetry enacts a theological aesthetics of resistance in which language becomes an instrument of spiritual and ethical reconfiguration. In this framework, poetic expression is not merely an aesthetic exercise, but a radical way of inhabiting suffering, silence and longing, echoing Job’s existential questioning as a source of meaning and creative resilience.
keywords: Theology and literature; Contemporary Portuguese poetry; José Tolentino Mendonça; Political spirituality; Spiritual exercises
Poetry as a Kenotic Exercise in José Tolentino Mendonça’s ‘The Days of Job’ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
148 x 210 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 100 czk
ISSN: 1804-5588
E-ISSN: 2336-3398
