Anti-poetry
Anti-poetry is an art movement that attempts to break away from the normal conventions of traditional poetry. Early proponents of anti-poetry include the Chilean Nicanor Parra and the Greek Elias Petropoulos.
Parra, known as the father of anti-poetry, published his first collection of antipoems in 1954[1] and sought to reject the belief that verse holds any mystical power. The poems have been described as prose-like, irreverent, and illuminating the problems of human existence.[2]
Elias Petropoulos had tried to describe the art of Anti-poetry. This was in his “notebook” Indeed, in Berlin; containing verses that included intentionally made mistakes in regard to prosody, grammar and rhyme. The inspiration for many of Mr. Petropoulos poems had been the harsh, and sad atmosphere of the wall divided German metropolis where he was residing. Mr. Petropoulos had long come to the conclusion that poetry about love and desires was becoming too gentle for the literature of modern age. Rather it was time to introduce anti-poetry by incorporating anti-sentimentalism feelings and reaction within poems.[3]
Early history
During 5th century B.C theatrical Sketches called Mimes were being introduced with ideas and languages that were determined to be Anti-plays. There had been times when poets would turn against his/her own poetry in an antagonistic way. Anti poetry can be found and cited from the first poets of Italy and also (Dante, followed by Petrarch) as well as some other places in Europe. They had made the decision to compose verses in vernacular rather than Latin; they were behaving in an anti-poetic manner. Many Playwrights which include both William Shakespeare and Moliere were some of the writers cited for using Anti-poetry within their work now and then in the midst of a verse play.[3]
Modern Anti-poetry
Anti-poetry has been picked up in the 21st century. Modern anti-poetry carries the same spirit as the early writers, but is still distinct in nature. In modern anti-poetry, punctuation is minimal and only used as necessary. Formatting and capitalization are simple and friendly to the eye. It also incorporates new vocabulary and depicts poetic images and scenes.
See also
References
- Parra, Nicanor (1954). Poemas y antipoemas. Madrid: Cátedra. ISBN 8437607779. OCLC 19545265.
- "Parra, Nicanor: INTRODUCTION." Poetry Criticism. Ed. David Galens. Vol. 39. Thomson Gale, 2002. http://www.enotes.com/topics/nicanor-parra/critical-essays/parra-nicanor
- Taylor, John. “Poetry Today” N.p., Web. June 1, 2009.
External links
- The technique of anti-poetry, an essay by Edith Grossman