Lectures, readings on avant-garde poetry are held at PLNU
by Jenelle Knight
February 4, 2008

French poet Michel Deguy speaks to an audience at the St. Topez Bakery downtown on Friday night.  Photos by Jenelle Knight

Last Friday night, the downtown St. Tropez Bakery & Bistro could have been mistaken for a small café in France. French accents filled the room as coffee, wine and food were consumed; everyone in attendance was anticipating hearing poetry recitations from some of the most talented French poets in the world.

The gathering was just one of several poetry events that took place during the International Colloquium of French Poetry from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2. The colloquium, hosted by PLNU, featured lectures, debates and poetry recitations each day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. With the exception of the Friday night’s event, all events were held on campus.

Showcasing world-famous French poets Michel Deguy, Jean-Marie Gleize, Christian Prigent and Nathalie Quintane and nearly 15 other notable poets, this event was the first of its kind at PLNU.

“The gathering of so many of them is unique,” said PLNU French professor Alain Lescart in an e-mail interview.

Two years ago, Lescart suggested the idea of a prestigious international colloquium on avant-garde poetry to his colleague, Benedicte Gorrillot of the University of Valencienne in France. The idea soon gained momentum and support from people around the world, culminating in last week’s event.

The topic of the colloquium was “Freedom, License and Poetic Illegibility.”  According to Lescart, illegibility is often an issue with the work of most avant-garde poets, who “do not write for a specific public to understand but to create new forms and ways of viewing modern life.”

The colloquium brought together both French and American scholars to discuss these topics in an effort to better understand this new type of contemporary poetry.

Many PLNU students studying French attended the lectures, including senior Lauren McGrath, who said, “What really struck me about the colloquium was not only the fact that they were discussing avant-garde poetry and whether or not it was considered legitimate in the world of literature, but they also had the poets themselves here at the conference.”   

The St. Tropez Bistro, located next to the trolley station downtown, offered a more informal setting for the attendees and poets.

“I like this setting because it’s more relaxed,” said PLNU junior Darrin Roberts, who had attended several other colloquium lectures.

Following the event Lescart talked with students about the difficulty of directly translating French poetry into English, especially when the poetry employs several puns. Even after seven and a half years of French, Roberts agreed that the poetry was hard to completely understand.

Lescart said they plan to have another colloquium at the University of Valencienne in the year 2010, when they will ideally be able to explore more poetry styles, including French slam poetry, a postmodern form of competitive performance poetry.