Modern Poets Research Articles

“Image of the author” – Maria Komornicka/Piotr Odmieniec Włast— in Xięga poezji idyllicznej [The Book of Idyllic Poetry

The article is an attempt to reconstruct the “image of the author” perceived as a cognitive category. It is based on the interpretation of Maria Komornicka's Xięga poezji idyllicznej, the last work of the modernist poet's life. The image of the speaking subject that emerges from the texts is undefined and ambiguous. It takes on a mask, shapes and processes, constantly waiting for a change. It assumes a confessional role and becomes a source of finding the identity of Maria Komornicka/Piotr Odmieniec Włast.

The genre has a pulse: Ode in modern Russian poetry

The article seeks to disprove the assumption that the ode as a poetic genre breathed its last in the 1830s–1850s. The scholars suggest that no genre remains a form cast in concrete, but instead serves as a toolkit facilitating the creative process. To prove that the genre of ode is still relevant, the authors consider works of four eminent modern poets — A. Belyakov, V. Gandelsman, I. Ermakova, and A. Kushner — and describe their use of the genre. In each case, ode features prominently, its importance recognized by the poets themselves. The article argues in favour of a more in-depth study of the evolution of the ode in the non-canonical period of Russian literary history.

The author’s individuality is back in the limelight

Pereverzin, a contemporary poet, a winner of the ‘Moskovskiy schyot’ literary award (2009), and the editor-in-chief of the poetry journal Piroskaf, discusses new names and trends in modern poetry with the critic E. Pogorelaya. Starting with an overview of the changes that have marked contemporary poetry following the dissolution of the publisher Voymega almost three years ago, the conversation next considers the journals Prosodia and Piroskaf and discusses: their objectives, priorities, and target audiences; the similarity of the situation faced by contemporary poets and artists alike; new methods in poetry and artificial intelligence. The discussion mentions the names of modern poets and artists featured in Piroskaf, a journal that promotes an innovative mixture of verbal and visual arts. Pereverzin suggests that today’s poetry seeks new forms of interaction with its audience, but pandering to readers’ tastes will lead the poet to a dead end. Poetry is supposed to perceive and recreate the world as a reality, rather than a reflection, including the reflections in the reader’s eyes.

Translated Poetry in Late Soviet Latvia: sporadic modernism and the construction of world literature

The article builds upon previous work that has been written about the connection between translation and colonial endeavours (Tymoczko, 1999; Robinson, 2014), as well as the research done in the field of Baltic post-colonialism (Annus, 2018), and focuses on cases of poetic production in Soviet Latvia during the time after de-Stalinization. By surveying data on the publication of books of translated poetry in Latvia after 1956 – when knowledge of Stalin’s terror disseminated, the study reveals how translation was used to strengthen Soviet power in occupied territories. The “world” that was being represented through translation was largely Eurocentric and Russocentric. Simultaneously, from the 1960s onward, several Latvian translators wrote translations and poems that survive both as documents of cultural others, and as testimonies of local noncompliance. These works are imbued with modernist poetics that was unfamiliar to or even condemned by the propagators of socialist realism, the official and ideologically saturated aesthetic promoted by the Soviet regime. The article suggests reading such texts as a kind of sporadic modernism within Soviet Latvia.

Renewal of Modern Arabic Poetry: The Culture-Creativity Controversy

The present research raises critical issues regarding modern Arabic poetry, wondering about the limits of creativity starting from awareness about poetry writing to its reading prospects. It observes how the Arab poet is torn between focusing on the depth of culture (with what it imposes in terms of conforming to the prevailing poetic model) and between the temptations of creativity, which requires a level audacity and aspiration to different and renewed written models. The research disassembles the structure of poetry as a cultural system rooted in the Arab memory and discusses the question of identity in its relationship to creativity. It stresses the centrality of the traditional Arab poetic model while pointing to attempts at transcending such model. The most prominent of these attempts was that accomplished by the Arab poetic modernity movement in the forties and fifties of the last century (free poetry and prose poem). The research explores the rationale behind this decisive shift in the history of Arabic poetry at the levels of its creative and cultural foundations. In this regard, the research raised the question of leadership, the call for renewal, and defense of the pioneering poets of their innovative achievement against the successive creative booms. The research also discussed the controversy over tradition versus creativity, the question of dialogue in texts, the prospects for critical poetry reading with its scientific and cultural transformations, and the distribution of its theoretical and methodological references between Arab heritage and Western culture.

The Image of the Small Homeland in the Lyrics of Modern Smolensk Poets

The article examines the question of the peculiarities of Smolensk poetry, in which one of the main motives is to show the image of the small homeland, the native Smolensk region. The main features of the Smolensk poetic school, highlighted by the famous Soviet critic, native of Smolensk Adrian Vladimirovich Makedonov back in 1960, are determined. The poetic work of one of the brightest modern poets of the Smolensk region – Yuri Vasilyevich Pashkov – is analyzed. Based on the opinion of Makedonov, it is proved that Pashkov belongs to the followers of the Smolensk poetic school, especially one of its founders, Nikolai Ivanovich Rylenkov.The activity of Pashkov is shown as the organizer of the famous literary association of the modern Smolensk region, which was named by the poet «Spring». Based on the example of the analysis of the poetic lines of some representatives of «Rodnik», a tendency to continue to show the image of the small homeland in modern Smolensk poetry is noted.

HISTORICAL ASPECTS IN THE POETRY OF KURMANCIS

In a general way, poetry is considered to be an important foundation in literature as a whole and poetry in general. Since the beginning of the stage of human life, each stage has its own use and until now, it has its own color and importance in all its forms. It is also considered as an important tool. The poet tells his story through elements. Historical elements are one of the types of elements found in modern poetry in the south of the country. the poets still use it in their poetry. they use the historical ones. as it is clear that the Kurmans have seen very difficult periods in their history. the modern poets have used the historical ones for the success and problems of the Kurmans in the way of the historical ones. This is clear from the attention of the new poet Kurmanç. He uses historical elements in his poems.

Text and Intertextuality in Modern Arabic Poetry of Yoruba Scholars

Objectives: This paper examines Arabic poetic texts produced by modern Yoruba scholars, to study how they inter-textualize with poetic texts of classical and early modern poets in Arabic. It does a critical reading of select poems from the corpus of Isa Abu-Bakre (b.1953), and Afis Ayinde Oladosu (b.1967). Whereas the former follows the traditional system in the composition of his poems, the latter writes his collections in free verse. Methods: The paper adopts a method of historicizing the annals of intertextuality, before proceeding to exposit, closely read, and analyze intertextuality cues in the poetry of Yoruba scholars. It hinges its discussions on the works of Julia Kristeva, Roland Barthes, James Porter, Lev Vygotsky, Graham Allen, Ahmad Az-Zoubi, and Muhahammad Miftah among others. Conclusions: The study shows that Arabic poetical compositions of modern Yoruba scholars often intersect, not only with poetical texts of classical and early modern poets in Arabic, but also, they inter-textualize with texts from the primary sources of Arabic literary tradition- the Glorious Qur'an and Hadith.

The Two Pierides: Magpies and Imitative Poetics in Early Modern England

Abstract: Since antiquity, magpies have been known for their chattering call and their uncanny ability to mimic other sounds, including human speech. On this basis, the bird has by turns been maligned as a gossip, an impostor, and a hypocrite—and celebrated as an imitator. These opposed perspectives mutually inform influential accounts of the magpie, such as Ovid’s tale of the Pierides, in which the eloquent and ambitious daughters of King Pieros, who are equal in number to and even share names with the Muses, are turned into magpies after challenging the Muses to a singing contest and losing. In the early modern period, this ambivalent legacy worked against polemicists who sought to establish a clear distinction between chatter and speech through the invocation of the magpie. The black-and-white bird testified with equal conviction on either side of debates over gender, politics, and religion. Poets and critics faced a similar challenge in distinguishing poets from “pie-poets,” for the magpie spoke profoundly both to the presumption and to the transcendent promise of poetry as described by its most idealistic advocates. Tracking the magpie through early modern culture broadens our sense of the scope of early modern poetics, allowing us to appreciate how a range of writers understood imitation and how poets themselves felt about their attempts to participate in beauty through the imitation of nature and art.

Ecocriticism and Environmental Awareness in Modern Poetry in Africa

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the ecocriticism and environmental awareness in modern poetry in Africa. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study found that poetry aims to raise environmental awareness by depicting the beauty of natural landscapes and the destructive impact of human activity. Ecocritical poetry often incorporates imagery and symbolism that evoke a sense of urgency regarding climate change, pollution, and conservation efforts. By intertwining aesthetic appreciation with ecological consciousness, modern poets not only reflect the environmental crises of our time but also inspire readers to contemplate and engage with ecological issues. This growing trend underscores the vital role of literature in fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of the natural world, thereby contributing to a broader cultural movement towards environmental sustainability. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Ecocritical theory, cultural ecology theory and reader-response theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the ecocriticism and environmental awareness in modern poetry in Africa. In practice, promoting ecocritical poetry involves integrating it into educational curricula and public discourse. Advocating for ecocritical poetry in policy involves influencing cultural and media practices to amplify environmental voices and perspectives.

Martin Johnston, the Problem of Elegy, and Social Poetics in Late Modernist Lyric

ABSTRACT Elegiac poems by Australian late modernist poet Martin Johnston (1947–90) expose key anxieties about lyric poetry after American mid-century late modernism. Johnston, like other of his contemporaries, experimented with elegy in order to rethink the lyric in ways conscious of innovative mid-century and post-1960s developments from American poetry. Johnston’s discomfort with elegy and the elegiac tradition, and his subsequent effort to expand upon the concept of the dead poet since romanticism using social poetics, illuminate wider tendencies in late modernist poetics shared with other Australian peers. This essay insists that the late modernist question of social poetics can be studied via the tentative process the antipodean poet Johnston adopts in his complex relationship to elegiac lyric.

Interview with Geeta Patel: a conversation of Miraji scholars

ABSTRACT In this interview, Geeta Patel discusses her research on the Urdu modernist poet Miraji (1912–49), including her influential work Lyrical Movements, Historical Hauntings: On Gender, Colonialism and Desire in Miraji’s Urdu Poetry (Stanford, 2002), the first book in English devoted to Miraji’s oeuvre. Convened in 2019, this interview was conducted as a conversation with a new generation of Miraji scholars. Patel describes the challenges she faced in her research as well as the difficulties researchers must address in studying Miraji today.

C. S. Lewis Contra Mundum: How the Whole World Groaned and Found Itself Modernist

Just as Athanasius stood against Arianism (the ascendent faith of the ruling class of his day), Lewis stood against Modernism (the ascendent literary movement of his day). This paper will explore Lewis’s pugnacious resistance to Modernism, both as a literary-critic and as a writer of fiction, in the light of his core theological convictions, which include, like Athanasius, a firm belief in Incarnation—in the embodiment of Logos in the material world. In treating this topic, this paper will consider Lewis’s main opponent, Modernist poet T. S. Eliot, who seemingly represents all that Lewis fights against; it will explore the theological underpinnings of Lewis’s disagreement with Eliot and will evaluate Lewis’s desire to retain the image (broadly speaking) in the light of his profoundly Incarnational faith. What is more, it will aim to link that deeply Incarnational faith to his programme of literary re-enchantment.

Miraji ke Liye: interview with Julien Columeau

ABSTRACT Mehr Afshan Farooqi interviews Julien Columeau, author of five collections of Urdu fiction, about his novella Miraji ke liye (For Miraji), a fictional account of the infamous Urdu modernist poet. Farooqi contextualizes Miraji within Urdu literature and explores his relationship with French literature, especially Baudelaire and Mallarme. Farooqi’s interview with Columeau explores his fictional ‘evocation’ of Miraji, which draws on Miraji’s own fascination and imaginative response to Baudelaire.

A dense tranquillity, a harsh solitude: the ‘un-natural’ modernism of Miraji

ABSTRACT This paper delineates the socio-historical imagination underpinning the works of Miraji, one of the pioneers of Urdu poetic modernism. It argues that the ‘modernism’ attributed to Miraji’s poetry is best understood as the culmination of, as well as a veritable departure from, a specific diachronic movement internal to the history of modern Urdu literature. Presenting the idea of ‘naturalness’ as one of the principal catalysts of this internal movement, this paper demonstrates how Miraji attempted to reorient the trajectory of modern Urdu poetry by adopting an equivocal poetic language, which challenged the moral, social, and political imports of this politico-aesthetic discourse of ‘naturalness’.

Bots and Books: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping Contemporary Literature

The coming of the robotized millennium has brought about a period of time in which artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant impact on many facets of existence for humans, including the literary arts. This research paper explores the various ways that AI is changing the field of literature. AI has had a significant and all-encompassing impact on literature, from the development of new forms of literary expression to the improvement of conventional writing techniques. The examination of literature produced by AI takes up a large amount of the paper. It highlights noteworthy endeavors and projects that use AI to produce literary works, from poetry collections to novels in their entirety. The paper explores the distinctive features of AI-generated literature, such as its stylistic inclinations, thematic concerns, and structural patterns, through case studies of texts written by AI. It also discusses how these works have been received critically, illustrating the various viewpoints held by readers, academics, and literary critics regarding the significance and uniqueness of texts created by artificial intelligence. The collaborative potential of AI in the process of creating literature is further examined in this work. It looks at how modern poets and writers are using AI tools to improve their creative processes, from coming up with ideas and getting beyond writer's block to trying out novel narrative structures and styles. The study offers insights into the useful applications and advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) in literature through surveys and interviews with authors who have used AI into their creative processes It looks forward to more developments in AI technology and how they can transform the literary industry. It provides a nuanced view of the future of literary creativity in the robotized millennium by highlighting the opportunities and problems posed by AI in the literary arena. The research advances knowledge about AI's influence on the direction of literature by combining historical study, current case studies, and futuristic conjecture.

Категория памяти в поэзии В. Кирюшина: онтологический аспект

The aim of the study is to identify the features of the phenomenon of memory in the poetry of the modern poet Victor Kiryushin. The object of the article is the ontological dimension of memory in the Russian artistic verbal culture, which in the work of the modern author is associated with the image of a soldier, the image of war, the image of an old woman-mother, poetics and aesthetics of the “saying thing”. The subject of the study is the figurative realization of the phenomenon of memory in V. Kiryushin’s poetic selection from the literary and socio-political almanac “Day of Poetry – XXI Century” (2023). Considerable attention is paid to the interaction between digital memory and contemporary art, Russian poetry, which has the qualities of cultural entelechy. Digital memory and cultural memory are compared. Great culturological potential of modern poetry for studying the national existence of Russia is revealed. The results of the study can be applied in the course of teaching courses on the culture and history of Russia in secondary and higher schools.

(The concept of nihilism and its reflection in Kurdish poetry of Sorani dialect)( Hashim Saraj )for example

The current research is an attempt to interpret the concept of nihilism from the ancient Greek era to the postmodern era from different perspectives. The study sheds light on nihilism from the perspectives of ancient Greek philosophy and the western world in general and the reflections of modern philosopher Schopenhauer on this topic. The research describes and explains the reflection of nihilism in kurdish classic, modern, and postmodern poetry. The purpose of the study is also to show the differences and similarities of nihilism from Western perspective to the Middle Eastern perspective by referencing several poets. It is a fact that this context is more influenced by social norms, religious beliefs, and culture. The study also analyses the poems of Hashim Saraj as a modern poet. As a poet, Saraj is influenced by the intellectual waves of enlightenment movement. Although he has a large number of poems about pessimism and despair, he could not neglect the impacts of his culture in his poetry. However, Sarah's pessimism is to reflect a positive aspect rather than a negative one.

Adventure and contingency in literary theory

The relation between adventure and contingency is an ambivalent one. This ambivalence can be described by using a distinction of two aspects already tied together in âventiure (as a French foreign word in German), distinguished by Jacob Grimm as “begebenheit” versus “erzählte geschichte selbst,” rendered as ‘type of event’ versus ‘narrative pattern’ in the terminology of the Munich research group Philology of Adventure. On the one hand, it seems obvious that for an adventure, as a type of event, a contingent element is a crucial precondition. An adventurous agent must willingly expose himself to this contingent event and interpret it as a ‘Chance’ (using a French foreign word in German, again), i.e. as opportunity to gain by risking, be it simply capital—as in the economic usage of the word, from English ‘Merchant Adventurers’ to contemporary ‘Venture Capital’—, or be it fame or prestige—as in Medieval and Early Modern adventure epics and novels. On the other hand, adventure, as a narrative pattern, tends to reduce contingencies in order to ‘make sense’. Even if adventure tales tolerate and actually support episodic structures, these episodes must, after all, be motivated and integrated into a plot. In other words: Writing an adventure story always already implies to tame (or perhaps rather frame) the very contingency it is based on. Adventure stories are therefore typical cases of “eliminat[ing] the contingent part of the literary phenomena it deals with” (Duprat and Jordan, introduction to the present special issue). This tension is, however, rarely acknowledged in the history of literary theory—here taken in the longue durée, starting with Early Modern poetics. The present essay discusses some steps from the history of relevant theories, with a particular emphasis on Giorgio Agamben's recent eulogy of adventure.

Verses of Change: Democratisation of Poetry in Ford Madox Ford’s “Antwerp” and Nazım Hikmet Ran’s “The Legend of the National Militia”

Wars have always been echoed in literature as manifestations of humankind's desire for supremacy and power across history. Twentieth-century poetry, marked by the turmoil of the two World Wars and the wars of independence, reflects poets' patriotic and personal responses to the power struggles and expansionist policies of imperialist countries. These poems also challenge traditional war narratives that glorify politicians while ignoring the horrors of war and the ordinary people whose heroic struggles changed the course of history. Ford Madox Ford, one of the leading Modernist poets and novelists in English literature, and Nazım Hikmet, a pivotal figure in twentieth-century Turkish poetry, wrote unique narrative poems that critically reimagine war and attribute heroism to common people. This article contends that Ford’s “In October 1914 [Antwerp]” and N. Hikmet’s “The Legend of the National Militia” (Kuvayi Milliye Destanı) mirror the poets’ attempts to democratise poetry by portraying the extraordinary resistance of ordinary people instead of the idealised hero archetype. Furthermore, the poems serve to politicise modernist verse by addressing the suffering of ordinary individuals and their struggles against expansionist countries and calling for the recognition of alternative histories. While Ford’s poem immortalises the martyrdom of Belgians and the agonies of Belgian refugees brought on by the conflicting interests of hegemonic countries, Nazım’s poem portrays the defiance of the ignored people of Anatolia against both imperialist powers and the unjust social structures.