Daisaku Ikeda, Transnationalism, and American Literature: Dialogues of the Heart (Routledge Research in American Literature and Culture)

Daisaku Ikeda, Transnationalism, and American Literature: Dialogues of the Heart examines the writings of Nichiren Buddhist philosopher, poet, and peacebuilder Daisaku Ikeda (1928-2023), focusing on how American literature and transnationalism are integral to the development of his Buddhist philosophy and practices in peacebuilding, religion, and education. Each chapter explores his engagement with a diverse array of literary texts, from Emerson, Whitman, and other authors of the American Renaissance; to the philosophical pragmatism of John Dewey and Martin Luther King Jr., to African American literature by Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes, to a global culture of letters by Muriel Rukeyser, Ben Okri, and others.Throughout, contributors demonstrate the transformative power of literature and philosophy, including their capacities to inspire dialogue and shape Ikeda’s global peacebuilding and human rights agenda.Topics addressed will include how poetry enables a pragmatist call to action