"The Foundations of the Earth"

7 March 2018:

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" --Job 38:1-7

I taught Randall Kenan's "The Foundations of the Earth" today in my ENGL 360 class. It's a great story and I could write about so many different ideas, but I think I'll just stick to the part above, the excerpt from the book of Job that features prominently in the story and gives it its title. It is a powerful passage: beautifully written, moving, and frustrating. We talked about how Job (like Maggie in Kenan's story) doesn't get the answers he seeks from God, who just sort of shuts him down. Are God's words comforting for Job? Do they frustrate him into silence? We don't know. We can just imagine and imagine what we would do.