James Kugel reviews the history of the process whereby literary scholars differentiated parts of the Old Testament as prose or poetry and finds it mistaken from the start. First published in 1981, THE IDEA OF BIBLICAL POETRY immediately provoked controversy among scholars. Reinforced by habit and numbers, many continue to repeat the notions that Kugel attacks. And, as long as they do, his book will remain an indispensable counter. | The Idea of Biblical Poetry by James Kugel, Paperback | Indigo Chapters