The documentary paradigma in modern descriptive poetry (1900-1950).

The objective of my research project on the documentary paradigm in poetry (1900-1950) is the elaboration of an authentic theory of modern descriptive poetry. It is a continuation of my doctoral work on the photographic imaginary, which is one of models or interprétants (Ortel, 2008) of modernist poetry. I shall be examining a francophone corpus of descriptive poetry whose epistemological status and/or aesthetic has a documentary purpose. The goal of the project is to gain an understanding of the debt descriptive poetry owes to the realm of the document when it refers to models that are extra-poetical (novels, essays, newspapers, etc.) and extra-literary (painting, cinema, photography, radio, etc.). What is it that it is seeking to record, to document, and to show? What are the functions of the self-defining metaphors that poetry borrows from other domains? This documentary paradigm defines a new regime of poeticality and thus reorganises a major part of the poetry of the first half of the 20th century. It shall be studied at once in the avant-gardes, particularly the Surrealists, and in Modernism. The corpus shall include numerous minor poets, either for the marginal position of their poetry, eclipsed by other literary practices (Mac Orlan, Cendrars or Morand), or for their literary marginality (Albert-Birot, Fargue or Roussel).

Keywords:Descriptive poetry, French poetry, Modernism, Avant-gardes, Surrealism

Disciplines:Language studies, Literary studies, Theory and methodology of language studies, Theory and methodology of linguistics, Theory and methodology of literary studies, Other languages and literary studies