Michel Deguy: “In search of the sites of essentialness”

Authors

  • Michael Bishop

Abstract

A reflection on the opening poem, La vigie, of Michel Deguy‘s first book, Fragment du cadastre (1960), its emblematic significance enacting the critical birth of what will become an ever ongoing fundamental poetic duty to gaze out upon the world, see how it is mapped out, owned, apportioned,, distributed, partitioned, engage with the observed whilst ever remaining aware of the earth‘s inherent openness and availability which the poem of non-closure, ever reinventable relationality, deems it possible yet to articulate.

Une réflexion sur le poème liminaire, La vigie, du premier livre de Michel Deguy, Fragment du cadastre (1960), sa pertinence emblématique qui donne naissance à  ce qui deviendra un devoir poétique fondamental de contempler-méditer le monde, d'examiner sa cartographie, les droits de propriété qui opèrent, sa répartition, sa distribution, de s'engager auprès de l'observé tout en restant conscient de l'ouverture, de la disponibilité inhérente de la terre que le poème de non-clôture, de relationnalité réinventable considère pourtant comme possiblement articulables.

Author Biography

Michael Bishop

Michael Bishop is emeritus McCulloch Professor of French and Contemporary Studies at Dalhousie University. He has written widely in the fields of contemporary poetry and art. He is also poet, translator and publisher of Editions VVV. His most recent publications include The Endless Theory of Days : The Art and Poetry of Gérard Titus-Carmel (2007), Contemporary French Art1 (2008), Contemporary French Art 2 (2011), Dystopie et poïein, agnose et reconnaissance. Seize études sur la poésie française et francophone contemporaine (2014) and Earth and Mind : Dreaming, Writing, Being. Nine Contemporary French Poets (2018). His poetry includes Snowing, with Grace (2007) and La Genèse maintenant (2011).

Published

2019-11-03