Marcelin Pleynet on Poetry, Bataille, and the 'Póntos'
In a 2002 conversation with artpress, poet Marcelin Pleynet reflects on his piece 'le Póntos', which is part of the 'STANZE' series initiated in 1973. He expresses discontent with modern French poetry, although he acknowledges exceptions such as Baudelaire and Rimbaud. Pleynet engages with Georges Bataille's 1947 work 'La Haine de la Poésie', emphasizing its connection to poetic inquiries. He mentions his 1962 publication 'Provisoires amants des nègres', inspired by Rimbaud. Pleynet denounces subpar poetry as 'idealistic bleating', linking it to Bataille's disdain for poetry. He also alludes to Philippe Sollers's 1968 essay and Nietzsche's declaration 'God is dead' (1881). The term 'póntos' symbolizes a journey through history and metaphysics, with Pleynet asserting that poetry embodies a 'revolutionary' spirit.
Key facts
- Marcelin Pleynet published 'le Póntos' as part of the 'STANZE' series, which began in 1973.
- Pleynet expresses disdain for most French poetry published in recent decades.
- He cites Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Lautréamont, Apollinaire, Artaud, Pound, Ponge, Cendrars, Mayakovsky, and Beat Generation poets as exceptions.
- Georges Bataille's 'La Haine de la Poésie' (1947) was retitled 'L'Impossible' in 1962.
- Pleynet's first poetry volume 'Provisoires amants des nègres' was published in 1962 by Éditions du Seuil.
- Philippe Sollers's essay 'Critique de la poésie' appeared in 'Logiques' (1968).
- Nietzsche's 'God is dead' statement from 'The Gay Science' (1881) is interpreted via Heidegger.
- The word 'póntos' is Greek, meaning a path that is also a journey, not a pre-existing route.
Entities
Artists
- Marcelin Pleynet
- Charles Baudelaire
- Arthur Rimbaud
- Comte de Lautréamont
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Antonin Artaud
- Ezra Pound
- Francis Ponge
- Blaise Cendrars
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Georges Bataille
- Philippe Sollers
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Martin Heidegger
Institutions
- artpress
- Éditions du Seuil
Locations
- France
Sources
- artpress —