Ecrits pour le cinéma: Le muet et le parlant

by FONDANE (Benjamin).

French

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published October 13, 2015

Reviews

[John Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamine Fondane (November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a genius of a very strange kind. Androgynous, a philosopher who basically discovered Leon Chestov (Lev Isaakovich Schwarzmann), who wrote on every imaginable topic, but who always returned to a symbolistic/surrealist stance towards poetry and the world--all while not taking the surrealists the slightest bit seriously.

I only became aware of Fondane's existence through poet David Gascoyne's elegant name dropping in his Journals. Fondane and Gascoyne were the best of friends--the same kind of friendship he had with Pierre Jean Jouve--psychoanalyst, poet, and essayist (October 11 1887 – January 8 1976).

Fondane wrote a revealing study of poet Arthur Rimbaud called "Rimbaud et Voyou" but to Andre Breton's severe distaste, this study contained Christocentric themes (as did Gascyone's, Jouve's, even Gide's) and he said to Gascoyne who was passing by one Paris evening: "I see you've become a Christian", pointing to the book.

Fondane was always on the move, and unfortunately, fate caught him at the worst possible time, caught by the SS in France and sent to Auschwitz for being "non-integrated". His "cinepoems" are great stuff, rivaling Man Ray.

Trying to describe this author in his entirety is almost impossible. A must read and great translation.

[michal k-c · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetry itself is great, fun, erudite blend of symbolist and Kabbalah, strong modernist evocations — but what I was really struck by (since this is a bilingual, parallel text edition) is how much better the French language is suited for poetry than English in certain modes.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The combination of film and poetry is interesting. Ripening eyelids and eyes in knees and floating heads, and other surreal devices are abundant. The religiously bent poems are a little less exciting.

[Jamie Grefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this work warmly edifying (the richness of the language, the density and grandeur of the images and worlds therein), and the closing interview w/ Cioran is icing on the page. Fondane also makes me want to read more St. John Perse.

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I wanted my heart to beat at one with my times, my flesh to join as one with history."
9/10, oddly I found the Cinepoems the weakest. I'll revisit them though, they're first in the book, so maybe they'll make more sense with the larger context in mind.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed is not the right word

[Christian Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cinepoems are 👌, writers should develop this concept more

[Sameen Shakya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cinepoems and Others by Benjamin Fondane is a collection of poems? These aren't poems like you might think of poetry. Let me explain:

The bulk of the book contains a singular poem called Cinepoems which is wild to say the least. Like the name suggests, the poem is a succession of scenes after scenes of a variety of different things, from murder to mundanity. They move at a breakneck speed that was exhausting to read but very enjoyable.

The rest of the poems fare just as well. This was a challenging book to read but God damn did it make my head hurt. I am still glad to have read it.