Review of 'Poème en prose, vers libre et modernité littéraire'. Par Michel Brix. (Détours littéraires.) Paris: Editions Kimé, 2014. 156 pp.

Abstract

If, for you, Baudelaire's Le Spleen de Paris represents one of the poetic masterpieces of the nineteenth century, Michel Brix's book will most likely infuriate you. Its central claim is that nineteenth-century literary inventions such as the poème en prose and the vers libre led to the ultimate "anéantissement de la poèsie" (p. 105). Brace yourselves: Brix's study is permeated with declarations of this kind; but the initial discomfort will be worth your while, as Brix's is a discordant voice worth hearing within the critical debate on the historical development of the prose poem and free verse.