From Weltpoesie to Weltpoetik: World Poetics as Third-Order Observing

This essay explores the idea of a world poetics through the lens of system theory. I propose three hypotheses that relate to Wang Ning’s call for a world poetics: 1) world literature is coterminous with world poetics as guidelines for “making” world literature; 2) world literature is brought about by rendering the vast majority of literature invisible, whether the distinction is drawn geographically, generically, chronologically, or otherwise; and 3) world literature is third-order observing of literature, and that observing is its poetics. These theses are explained, exemplified, and applied to Wang’s ideas in the course of my piece.