MACMILLAN Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine Poetry: The Lyric and the State (Literatures of the Americas)

Review “Ben Bollig’s book, on the recent political turn in Contemporary Argentine poetry, is at once authoritative, immensely knowledgeable, and readable. Its strength lies in a unique combination of skills: a well-digested and unobtrusive understanding of Latin American Cultural Studies; a confidently detailed grasp of Argentine politics; extensive research on circumstances of production, circulation, networks, and genre; and, crucially, close, intelligently contextualized, and subtle textual analysis of the works of five poets.” (Steven Boldy, Professor of Latin American Literature, University of Cambridge, UK) “Ben Bollig poses a grand question for all of us: why does poetry matter? Focusing on Argentine poetry of the last two decades, Bollig expertly brings his inquiry to the doorstep of the political and, indeed, tests the ways in which contemporary issues--especially the legacy of dictatorship and the financial crisis of 2001―weigh upon the literary text. Acutely aware of the circulation of poetry and poets―through web sites, pop-up movements, and performance in public places―Bollig intertwines these stagings with a detailed and lucid account of five experimental writers of recent years. This is an ambitious study elucidating a cultural project that we won’t want to overlook.” (Francine Masiello, Professor of Comparative Literature and Spanish, University of California, Berkeley, USA) Product Description This book addresses the connection between political themes and literary form in the most recent Argentine poetry. Ben Bollig uses the concepts of “lyric” and “state” as twin coordinates for both an assessment of how Argentinian poets have conceived a political role for their work and how poems come to speak to us about politics. Drawing on concepts from contemporary literary theory, this striking study combines textual analysis with historical research to shed light on the ways in which new modes of circulation help to shape poetry today. From the Back Cover This book addresses the connection between political themes and literary form in the most recent Argentine poetry. Ben Bollig uses the concepts of “lyric” and “state” as twin coordinates for both an assessment of how Argentinian poets have conceived a political role for their work and how poems come to speak to us about politics. Drawing on concepts from contemporary literary theory, this striking study combines textual analysis with historical research to shed light on the ways in which new modes of circulation help to shape poetry today. About the Author Ben Bollig is Professor of Spanish-American Literature at Oxford University, UK and an editor of the Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. His previous books include Néstor Perlongher and Modern Argentine Poetry: Displacement, Exile, Migration. He is the translator of Cristian Aliaga’s The Foreign Passion (Influx Press).