In this important volume, French philosopher and poet J.L. Chretien boldly and subtly applies his vast experience in phenomenology to poetry and literature - showing indeed how to bridge the boundary with philosophy. His real aim is implicit and brave: to show that spiritual authors from Augustine to Claudel surpass Bergson in their philosophical grasp of intuition and joy. He thus claims new turf for spiritual authors in the context of examining an important human constellation of emotions. The approach is exquisitely multi-disciplinary and makes a vital contribution to our understanding of the phenomenology of religious experience. Available in English for the first time, his work will be of immediate interest to philosophers, theologians, literary critics, psychologists, art historians and sociologists.