Prose poetry

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"Who of us has not dreamed, on ambitious days, of the miracle of a poetic prose: musical, without rhythm or rhyme; adaptable enough and discordant enough to conform to the lyrical movements of the soul, the waves of revery, the jolts of consciousness?" --À Arsène Houssaye" (1869) by Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire, author of Petits Poèmes en prose

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Prose poetry is usually considered a form of poetry written in prose that breaks some of the normal rules associated with prose discourse, for heightened imagery or emotional effect, among other purposes. One of the first examples of prose poetry is Gaspard de la Nuit (1842). Contrary to its title Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) by Edgar Allan Poe is not really a prose poem; the archetypal work of prose poetry is Le Spleen de Paris (1869) by French poet Charles Baudelaire. Les Chants de Maldoror (1874) by Comte de Lautréamont is both considered a poetic novel, or a long prose poem.

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Characteristics

Arguments continue about whether prose poetry is actually a form of poetry or a form of prose (or a separate genre altogether). Most critics argue that prose poetry belongs in the genre of poetry because of its use of metaphorical language and attention to language. Other critics argue that prose poetry falls into the genre of prose because prose poetry relies on prose's association with narrative, its consistent divergence of discourse, and its reliance on readers' expectation of an objective presentation of truth in prose. Yet others argue that the prose poem gains its subversiveness through its fusion of both poetic and prosaic elements.

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History

In 17th-century Japan, Matsuo Bashō originated haibun, a form of prose poetry combining haiku with prose. It is best exemplified by his book Oku no Hosomichi, in which he used a literary genre of prose-and-poetry composition of multidimensional writing.

In the West, prose poetry originated in early-19th-century France and Germany as a reaction against the traditional verse line. The German Romantics Jean Paul, Novalis, Friedrich Hölderlin, and Heinrich Heine may be seen as precursors of the prose poem. Earlier, 18th-century European forerunners of prose poetry had included James Macpherson's "translation" of Ossian and Évariste de Parny's "Chansons madécasses".

At the time of the prose poem's establishment as a form, French poetry was dominated by the alexandrine, a strict and demanding form that poets starting with Maurice de Guérin (whose "Le Centaure" and "La Bacchante" remain arguably the most powerful prose poems ever written) and Aloysius Bertrand (in Gaspard de la nuit) chose, in almost complete isolation, to cease using. Later Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, and Stéphane Mallarmé followed their example in works like Paris Spleen and Illuminations. The prose poem continued to be written in France into the 20th century by such writers as Max Jacob, Henri Michaux, Gertrude Stein, and Francis Ponge.

The writings of Syrian poet and writer Francis Marrash (1836–73) featured the first examples of prose poetry in modern Arabic literature. From the mid-20th century, the great Arab exponent of prose poetry was the Syrian poet Adunis (Ali Ahmad Said Esber, born 1930), a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Modernist poet T. S. Eliot wrote vehemently against prose poems. He added to the debate about what defines the genre, writing in his introduction to Djuna Barnes' highly poeticized 1936 novel Nightwood that it could not be classed as "poetic prose" as it did not show the rhythm or "musical pattern" of verse. By contrast, other Modernist authors, including Gertrude Stein and Sherwood Anderson, consistently wrote prose poetry. Canadian author Elizabeth Smart's By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept (1945) is a relatively isolated example of mid-20th-century English-language poetic prose.

Prose poems made a resurgence in the early 1950s and in the 1960s with American poets Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Russell Edson, Charles Simic, Robert Bly, John Ashbery, and James Wright. Edson worked principally in this form, and helped give the prose poem a reputation for surrealist wit. Simic won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1989 collection, The World Doesn't End.

Since the late 1980s, prose poetry has gained in popularity. Journals have begun specializing in prose poems or microfiction. In the United Kingdom, Stride Books published a 1993 anthology of prose poetry, A Curious Architecture.

[edit]

 [[Image:Charles Baudelaire.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Charles Baudelaire]], author of ''[[Petits Poèmes en prose]]'']]
 {{Template}}
-'''Prose poetry''' is usually considered a form of [[poetry]] written in [[prose]] that [[transgression|breaks some of the normal rules]] associated with prose discourse, for heightened imagery or emotional effect, among other purposes. ''[[Eureka: A Prose Poem]]'' (1848) by Edgar Allan Poe is not really a prose poem as such, so the archetypal work of prose poetry is ''[[Le Spleen de Paris]]'' (1869) by French poet Charles Baudelaire. ''[[Les Chants de Maldoror]]'' (1874) by Comte de Lautréamont is both considered a poetic novel, or a long prose poem.
+'''Prose poetry''' is usually considered a form of [[poetry]] written in [[prose]] that [[transgression|breaks some of the normal rules]] associated with prose discourse, for heightened imagery or emotional effect, among other purposes. One of the first examples of prose poetry is [[Gaspard de la Nuit (poetry collection)|''Gaspard de la Nuit'']] (1842). Contrary to its title ''[[Eureka: A Prose Poem]]'' (1848) by Edgar Allan Poe is not really a prose poem; the archetypal work of prose poetry is ''[[Le Spleen de Paris]]'' (1869) by French poet Charles Baudelaire. ''[[Les Chants de Maldoror]]'' (1874) by Comte de Lautréamont is both considered a poetic novel, or a long prose poem.
 ==Characteristics==
 Arguments continue about whether prose poetry is actually a form of [[poetry]] or a form of [[prose]] (or a separate genre altogether). Most critics argue that prose poetry belongs in the [[genre]] of [[poetry]] because of its use of [[metaphorical language]] and attention to [[language]]. Other critics argue that prose poetry falls into the genre of [[prose]] because prose poetry relies on prose's association with [[narrative]], its consistent divergence of discourse, and its reliance on readers' expectation of an objective presentation of [[truth]] in prose. Yet others argue that the prose poem gains its subversiveness through its fusion of both poetic and prosaic elements.
 ==History==
-As a specific form, prose poetry is generally assumed to have originated in the [[19th century France]].  At the time of the prose poem's emergence, [[French language|French]] poetry was dominated by the [[alexandrine]], an extremely strict and demanding form that poets such as [[Aloysius Bertrand]] and [[Charles Baudelaire]] (''[[Petits Poèmes en prose]]'') wanted to rebel against.  Further proponents of the prose poem included other French poets such as [[Arthur Rimbaud]] and [[Stéphane Mallarmé]]. The prose poem continued to be written in France and found profound expression, in the mid-[[20th century]], in the prose poems of [[Francis Ponge]].
+In 17th-century Japan, [[Matsuo Bashō]] originated ''[[haibun]]'', a form of prose poetry combining [[haiku]] with prose.  It is best exemplified by his book ''[[Oku no Hosomichi]]'', in which he used a literary genre of prose-and-poetry composition of multidimensional writing.
+In the West, prose poetry originated in early-19th-century [[France]] and [[Germany]] as a reaction against the traditional [[Line (poetry)|verse line]].
+The [[German Romantics]] [[Jean Paul]], [[Novalis]], [[Friedrich Hölderlin]], and [[Heinrich Heine]] may be seen as precursors of the prose poem.  Earlier, 18th-century European forerunners of prose poetry had included [[James Macpherson]]'s "translation" of ''[[Ossian]]'' and [[Évariste de Parny]]'s "[[Chansons madécasses]]".
+At the time of the prose poem's establishment as a form, [[French poetry]] was dominated by the [[French alexandrine|alexandrine]], a strict and demanding form that poets starting with [[Maurice de Guérin]] (whose "Le Centaure" and "La Bacchante" remain arguably the most powerful prose poems ever written) and [[Aloysius Bertrand]] (in [[Gaspard de la nuit]]) chose, in almost complete isolation, to cease using. Later [[Charles Baudelaire]], [[Arthur Rimbaud]], and [[Stéphane Mallarmé]] followed their example in works like ''[[Le Spleen de Paris|Paris Spleen]]'' and ''[[Illuminations (poetry collection)|Illuminations]]''. The prose poem continued to be written in France into the 20th century by such writers as [[Max Jacob]], [[Henri Michaux]], [[Gertrude Stein]], and [[Francis Ponge]].
+The writings of [[Syria]]n poet and writer [[Francis Marrash]] (1836–73) featured the first examples of prose poetry in modern [[Arabic literature]]. From the mid-20th century, the great Arab exponent of prose poetry was the Syrian poet [[Adunis]] (Ali Ahmad Said Esber, born 1930), a perennial contender for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].
-At the end of the 19th century, [[British Decadent movement]] poets such as [[Oscar Wilde]] picked up the form because of its already subversive association. This actually hindered the dissemination of the form into English because many associated the Decadents with homosexuality, hence any form used by the Decadents was suspect.
+The [[Modernism|Modernist]] poet [[T. S. Eliot]] wrote vehemently against prose poems. He added to the debate about what defines the genre, writing in his introduction to [[Djuna Barnes]]' highly poeticized 1936 novel ''[[Nightwood]]'' that it could not be classed as "poetic prose" as it did not show the rhythm or "musical pattern" of verse. By contrast, other Modernist authors, including [[Gertrude Stein]] and [[Sherwood Anderson]], consistently wrote prose poetry. [[Canadians|Canadian]] author [[Elizabeth Smart (Canadian author)|Elizabeth Smart]]'s ''[[By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept]]'' (1945) is a relatively isolated example of mid-20th-century English-language poetic prose.
-Notable [[Modernist]] poet [[T.S. Eliot]] even wrote vehemently against prose poems, though he did try his hand at one or two. In contrast, a couple of other Modernist authors wrote prose poetry consistently, including [[Gertrude Stein]]  and [[Sherwood Anderson]]; in actuality, Anderson considered his work to be short fictions—in the current term, "[[flash fiction]]." The distinction between flash fiction and prose poetry is at times very thin, almost indiscernible.
+Prose poems made a resurgence in the early 1950s and in the 1960s with American poets [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[William S. Burroughs]], [[Russell Edson]], [[Charles Simic]], [[Robert Bly]], [[John Ashbery]], and [[James Wright (poet)|James Wright]]. Edson worked principally in this form, and helped give the prose poem a reputation for surrealist wit. Simic won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Poetry]] for his 1989 collection, ''The World Doesn't End''.
-Then for a while prose poems died out, at least in English—until the early 1960s and '70s, when American poets such as [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Russell Edson]], [[Charles Simic]], [[Robert Bly]] and [[James Wright]] experimented with the form. Edson actually worked in the form foremost, and aided in giving the prose poem its current reputation for surrealist wit. Similarly, Simic won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his 1989 collection, ''The World Doesn't End''.
+Since the late 1980s, prose poetry has gained in popularity. Journals have begun specializing in [[Prose poetry#External links|prose poems or microfiction]]. In the [[United Kingdom]], Stride Books published a 1993 anthology of prose poetry, ''A Curious Architecture''.
-At the same time poets in the United States were writing prose poems in English, poets were also exploring the form in Spanish, Japanese, and Russian. [[Octavio Paz]] worked in the form in Spanish in his ''Aguila o Sol? Eagle or Sun?'' (ISBN 0811206238). Spanish poet [[Ángel Crespo]] (1926-1995) did his most notable work in the genre.  Dennis Keene (translator) reveals the work of six Japanese prose poets in ''The Modern Japanese Prose Poem: an anthology of six poets''. Similarly, Adrian Wanner and Caryl Emerson describe the form's growth in Russia in their critical work ''Russian Minimalism: From the prose poem to the anti-story''.
-In [[Poland]], [[Bolesław Prus]], influenced by the French prose poets, wrote a number of [[poetic]] [[microfiction|micro-stories]], including "[[Mold of the Earth]]" (1884) and "[[Shades (story)|Shades]]" (1885).
 ==See also==
 *[[Rhymed prose]]

Prose poetry

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