Gellu Naum’s The Advantage Of Vertebrae. A Solitary and Terrible Object Cover Image

Gellu Naum’s The Advantage Of Vertebrae. A Solitary and Terrible Object
Gellu Naum’s The Advantage Of Vertebrae. A Solitary and Terrible Object

Author(s): Jakub Kornhauser
Subject(s): Cultural history, Poetry, Romanian Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: avant-garde; liberature; experimental poetry; concrete poetry; collage;

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents one of the most interesting experiments in the Gellu Naum’s Surrealist repertoire, The Advantage of Vertebrae, a cycle of collage poems, created originally in the 40’s, but published late in 1975’s book The Description of the Tower. The poem is de-poetized by removing its teritory to the new context of the fashion-plate’s illustrations. This strange piece of art could also anticipate the formal experiments of the 50’s and 60’s, notably the concrete poetry, or be treated as a representative of liberature, the category invented by Polish poet Zenon Fajfer back in the late 90’s. Fajfer underlines the material aspect of literature as an object: from this point of view, The Advantage of Vertebrae becomes the laboratory of the poetry itself, gaining a new, unlimited identity.

  • Issue Year: 12/2017
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 277-288
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: English