Giorgio Caproni's 'Le Mur de la terre': A Poetic Confrontation with Nothingness

The article examines Giorgio Caproni's 1975 poetry collection 'Le Mur de la terre' (The Wall of Earth), published by Atelier La Feugraie. The collection, whose title derives from Dante, explores the limits of reason and the absence of God. Caproni's verse grapples with existential despair, the void, and the impossibility of transcendence. The poet describes a solitary figure speaking to the dead in an empty room, reflecting a Cartesian search for certainty that is ultimately denied. The collection is characterized by a paradoxical language that records the nuances of emptiness. Francis Wybrands writes that Caproni's poetry is 'apocalyptic' in the sense that it reveals and dares to speak after the end. Despite the pervasive nihilism, a fragile hope emerges, described as a 'small music' to be heard beneath the noise of time. The review highlights the poet's relentless quest for the most precise word, never static or aloof.