Apollinaire Visual Poetry And Art Criticism

More than anything, perhaps, this volume strives to elucidate the concept of poesie critique, which has received very little attention. This omission is surprising since the genre influenced the Surrealist invention of poesie synthetique as well as many writers who followed Apollinaire, trying to reconcile poetry and criticism.

In this, the only full-length study of the visual poetry of the early twentieth century, Willard Bohn expertly illuminates the works of Apollinaire, Josep-Maria Junow, Guillermo de Torre, and others. His fascinating aesthetic insights bring to life this elusive and often misunderstood genre. "An important contribution. Highly sophisticated, the study tends to raise its reader's impression of visual poetry in the twentieth century from trivial pastime to serious preoccupation."—Eric Sellin, Journal of Modern Literature "With his definitive analyses full of quotable observations and sharp critical insights, Bohn has provided a model, pioneering study, one from which current and future studies of visual poetry will most certainly benefit."—Gerald J. Janacek, Romance Quarterly "Bohn substantiates his thesis with thoughtful and often ingenious explications of texts both well known and hard to find. . . . Aesthetics of Visual Poetry is a thoroughly researched, beautifully written and fascinating introduction to an infinitely intriguing genre."—Mechthild Cranston, French Review

Visual poetry can be defined as poetry that is meant to be seen. Combining painting and poetry, it attempts to synthesize the principles underlying each discipline. Visual poems are immediately recognizable by their refusal to adhere to a rectilinear grid and by their tendency to flout their plasticity. In contrast to traditional poetry, they are conceived not only as literary works but also as works of art. Although they continue to provide visual cues that aid in deciphering the text, they function simultaneously as visual compositions. Whether the visual elements form a rudimentary pattern or whether they constitute a highly sophisticated design, they transform the poem into a picture. Reading Visual Poetry examines works created in Spain, Latin America, France, Italy, Brazil, and the United States. While it attempts to recreate the historical and cultural context surrounding each of the works in question, it is conceived primarily as a series of readings-or rather as a series of readings about reading. This book seeks to interpret a number of poems, which, despite their apparent simplicity, can be difficult to decipher. It explores the process of interpretation itself, which, like the compositions, can be surprisingly complex.

Far from frivolous playthings, modern visual poems represent serious experiments. Together with other members of the avant-grade, the visual poets sought to restructure the basic vision of reality that they inherited from their predecessors. This statement describes contemporary visual poets as well who, like their earlier colleagues, strive to say things that are more meaningful in ways that are more meaningful."--BOOK JACKET.

This literary history examines Guillaume Apollinaire's reception and influence in the Western hemisphere during the early twentieth century. Ir identifies and reconstructs major literary and art historical paths of development, about which surprisingly little is known. In particular, it discusses Apollinaire's reception and formative influence in North America, England, Germany, Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, and includes important documents by Apollinaire himself that have not appeared in print until now. "Bohn brings together a worldwide network of writers, artists, and critics to reveal the role and centrality of Apollinaire as the icon of Parisian modernism, cult figure of the avant-garde, poet with a new series of techniques, esthetician of the New, innovator of modern culture, and literary and cultural arbiter of his generation. "This is Rezeptionsesthetik in its most intense form. It is the definitive reference book for checking on who had any dealings with Apollinaire, the man or his work, and French modernism in English, German, Spanish or Catalan linguistic and cultural domains in both the Old and New Worlds. Bohn's translations from the various languages he commands are superb and prove that he is always working from source material. His text is simply a tour de force, a virtuoso performance". -- Seth L. Wolitz, University of Texas, Austin "Given the centrality of French poetry for European and New World poetry since Baudelaire, one simply cannot overstate Apollinaire's role in the evolution of the most advanced poetry written throughout Europe and North and South America since circa 1900. However, no one before has tracked his impact on avant-garde circles outsideFrance with so much attention to the specifics involved. Bohn has emerged as the dean of Apollinaire studies in North America; thus everything he has to say about the poet has the ring of absolute authority". -- Robert W. Greene, State University of New York, Albany

The most important poetry reference for more than four decades—now fully updated for the twenty-first century Through three editions over more than four decades, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics has built an unrivaled reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference for students, scholars, and poets on all aspects of its subject: history, movements, genres, prosody, rhetorical devices, critical terms, and more. Now this landmark work has been thoroughly revised and updated for the twenty-first century. Compiled by an entirely new team of editors, the fourth edition—the first new edition in almost twenty years—reflects recent changes in literary and cultural studies, providing up-to-date coverage and giving greater attention to the international aspects of poetry, all while preserving the best of the previous volumes. At well over a million words and more than 1,000 entries, the Encyclopedia has unparalleled breadth and depth. Entries range in length from brief paragraphs to major essays of 15,000 words, offering a more thorough treatment—including expert synthesis and indispensable bibliographies—than conventional handbooks or dictionaries. This is a book that no reader or writer of poetry will want to be without. Thoroughly revised and updated by a new editorial team for twenty-first-century students, scholars, and poets More than 250 new entries cover recent terms, movements, and related topics Broader international coverage includes articles on the poetries of more than 110 nations, regions, and languages Expanded coverage of poetries of the non-Western and developing worlds Updated bibliographies and cross-references New, easier-to-use page design Fully indexed for the first time

Reviewing the previous scholarship for seventeen of the most important poems in Alcools, this book provides a detailed analysis of each work and includes a state-of-the-art survey of current Apollinaire criticism. Besides acquainting readers with the existing scholarship, the book considers all the interpretations that have been proposed and indicates profitable directions to pursue. Each poem is subjected to a rigorous, line-by-line analysis that engages in a succession of dialogues with previous critics. The studies themselves are arranged in roughly chronological order, beginning with the “Rhénanes” in 1901-1902 and concluding with “Zone” in 1912. Although each chapter is basically conceived as an independent unit, readers are able to follow the evolution of Apollinaire’s aesthetics from his first mature creations through his subsequent experiments with fantastic, hermetic, visionary, and cubist poetry. At the same time, they witness Apollinaire’s personal evolution from his infatuation with Annie Playden through a period of deep depression, his love affair with Marie Laurencin, and the aftermath of that relationship.