Book excerpt: Employing contemporary theoretical perspectives, Uttering the Word provides the first detailed analysis of the language and thought of Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (1566-1607), an important but neglected Renaissance mystic. Borrowing from Lacan, de Certeau, and Deleuze, Maggi analyzes de' Pazzi's unique mystical discourse and studies how the Florentine visionary interprets the relationship between orality and writing, authorship and audience, sexual identity and language.