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The impasse of modern literature about the writing of poetry after Auschwitz (Adorno) has a counterpart in theology. How can one speak of God after Auschwitz and after the death of God (Hegel, Nietzsche)? The contemporary American philosopher John D. Caputo does not see this impasse as the end of theology, but rather as the possibility of a new beginning. Inspired by hermeneutics, phenomenology, and especially Derrida’s deconstruction, he developed a radical hermeneutics and a radical theology that seeks to replace logic with a poetic discourse. Theo-logy becomes theo-poetics. This article examines Caputo’s theopoetics in relation to (postmodern) literary studies, asking how his theopoetics challenges our way of reading texts. The article begins by discussing the background and content of Caputo’s theopoetics. God is the name of an event that breaks through reality and calls us. The call of the event has a transforming effect when we respond. The article then asks what Caputo’s thoughts on the event, the call, and transformation can mean for our perspective on literature. Can we also discern the event in literary texts? This is illustrated by a case study in which the poetry of Emily Dickinson is read from the perspective of Caputo’s theopoetics.