Friday, May 04, 2012

The final issue of ACTION POETIQUE, n° 207-210

Getting the massive 4-numbers in one final number of Action Poétique (1950-2012) is like watching the white whale being sunk, the gigantesque adventure of French criticism and poetry is being dis-activated (de-actioned, like decommissioned). (FYI: this photo is of the avant-dernier number as I have not found one of the new, final issue online yet) 

I only finally subscribed (instead of picking up a copy now and again) this last year and am saddened to see this review go. It brought me so many texts over the years--on Mallarmé, on American poets being read and translated into French, on Anne-Marie Albiach when I was working on my PhD on her work, that fun pink pink issue on Dada a few years back, and so much much much more. It is thanks to Action Poétique that I stumbled across certain French poet-critics for the first time (Pascal Petit, Liliane Giraudon, Jean-Pierre Balpe, Mitsou Ronat, Isabelle Garron, Frédéric Léal, Franck Venaille and others who have works in this final issue) and felt engaged and informed by what such French poet-critics were thinking over the years. This is a sad, sad day. 

As Hervé Martin cited on his blog announcing this issue as the penultimate arrived: "Pascal Boulanger a écrit en 1998  Une Action Poétique de 1950 à aujourd'hui, disponible chez Flammarion." For anyone who wants to hold onto the great legacy of Action Poétique, get a copy of issue 207-210 as it also contains a DvD of all the preceding issues (and their table of contents lists). It is thus an archive gift and a mournful wave farewell.

And also--for anyone in Paris who is wanting to get in a last hurrah with the editors and authors of the review, Michèle Ignazi bookstore is hosting a reading event with Henry Deluy and the editors of Action Poétique the 14th of May: 

 

A l'occasion de la parution de
l'ultime numéro de la revue
Action Poétique
1950-2012
 
rencontre avec
 
Henri Deluy
et l'équipe de la rédaction
 
le lundi 14 mai 2012
à partir de 19 heures
 
Henri Deluy présentera également ses derniers livres
L'heure dite
(Flammarion)
Poètes néerlandais de la modernité
(Le temps des cerises)
Manger la mer
Soupes et bouillabaisses à travers le monde
(Al Dante)
 
AT:  
Librairie Michèle Ignazi
17, rue de Jouy
75004 Paris
01 42 71 17 00
 

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